akili dada
Akili Dada is a Kenya-based nonprofit founded in 2005 that nurtures girls and young women from underserved communities through education scholarships, leadership development, feminist mentorship, and the Washa, Angaza, Urithi, and Manyatta programs across multiple Kenyan counties.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2005
- HeadquartersNairobi, Kenya
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What akili dada does
Akili Dada is a Nairobi-headquartered nonprofit organization founded in 2005 by Dr. Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg that nurtures girls and young women from rural and low-income communities in Kenya through education access, leadership development, mentorship, and feminist movement building. The organization operates three core programs—Washa (a leadership and social-action incubator for young women aged 18-35), Angaza (multi-year high school scholarships for high-performing girls from Kenya's rural and low-income regions, particularly ASAL counties), and Urithi (girl-centered leadership development delivered through 24 active partner schools with skills training, mentorship, and psycho-social support)—plus the Manyatta Homeschooling Program for out-of-school girls aged 15-25 across Samburu, Kilifi, Kwale, and Turkana counties.
Beyond in-person programming, Akili Dada has built a digital content layer including the Aunty Salama WhatsApp chatbot (developed with CUGI Limited, providing age-verified SRHR information), the Self-Love Journal publication, and the Chini Ya Mbuyu Podcast distributed on Spotify. The underlying technology stack is lightweight: a WhatsApp conversational interface accessible via mobile phones and computers, with age verification gating SRHR content; no proprietary platform, APIs, or developer integrations are disclosed. Operationally, the organization runs from a headquarters in Nairobi (Suite B7, Saachi Plaza, Argwings Khodhek Road) and uses regional coordinators in Samburu and Coast regions to deliver community-based programming.
Akili Dada is fiscally sponsored by the Omprakash Foundation, a US 501(c)(3) organization based in Seattle, which enables US tax-deductible donations. The organization does not charge beneficiaries—revenue is generated entirely through individual donations (credit/debit card via Omprakash, M-Pesa mobile money in Kenya, mailed checks), plus institutional grants from donors visible on its website including Amplify Girls, CICAN-KBEST, Girls Alliance Opportunity, Tides Foundation, and WFP. Over 20 years, Akili Dada has reported cumulative impact of 268 scholarships awarded, 457 entrepreneurs trained, 2,837 girls and young women mentored, and 40,000+ community members reached, with 83.6% of Angaza graduates transitioning to universities and TVETs.
akili dada firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- akili dada
- Legal name
- Akili Dada
- Website
- https://akilidada.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2005
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Akili Dada is a Kenya-based nonprofit founded in 2005 that nurtures girls and young women from underserved communities through education scholarships, leadership development, feminist mentorship, and the Washa, Angaza, Urithi, and Manyatta programs across multiple Kenyan counties.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
akili dada industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Girls' Education and Leadership Development
- NAICS
- Child and Youth Services (62411), Educational Support Services (611710), Other Individual and Family Services (624190)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Child Protection & Child Rights (BPAGABAG)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Family & Parenting Education (Family Literacy, Parenting Skills) (EDAAAFAF), Maternal, Newborn, Child & Adolescent Health (MNCAH) NGOs (HLAJAKAG)
Keywords
Where akili dada is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Nairobi
- HQ country
- Kenya
- HQ region
- Africa
Offices5 records
Markets served
akili dada business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Others
Revenue model
- Donations and Grants: Akili Dada is a nonprofit organization funded through donations from individuals and institutional donors. They accept donations via credit/debit card through their fiscal partner Omprakash (501(c)(3) nonprofit), mobile money transfers (M-Pesa) in Kenya, and checks mailed to Omprakash Foundation in Seattle.
- Fiscal Sponsorship: Akili Dada is a member of and fiscally sponsored by Omprakash, a tax-exempt nonprofit registered under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Donations made via Omprakash are processed in the U.S. and are tax-deductible.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
akili dada product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Akili Dada is an African women-led leadership incubator that delivers education access, scholarships, mentorship, and feminist leadership development programs to girls and young women from underserved communities in Kenya. Its core offerings include the Washa leadership program for young women aged 18-35, the Angaza multi-year high school scholarship program, and the Urithi girl-centered leadership development program, complemented by the Manyatta Homeschooling initiative for out-of-school girls. The organization supplements these programs with digital resources including the Aunty Salama WhatsApp chatbot for sexual reproductive health information, the Self-Love Journal, and the Chini Ya Mbúyú Podcast.
Product overview
Akili Dada operates as an African Women Led Leadership Incubator offering three core programs—Washa (Ignite), Angaza (Amplify), and Urithi (Legacy)—alongside supporting digital resources and publications. The Washa Program targets young women aged 18-35 for leadership and social innovation; Angaza provides multi-year high school scholarships for girls from rural Kenya; and Urithi delivers girl-centered leadership development with mentorship and psycho-social support. The organization also runs the Manyatta Homeschooling Program for out-of-school girls, provides the Aunty Salama WhatsApp chatbot for SRHR information, publishes the Self-Love Journal for teen girls, and produces the Chini Ya Mbúyú Podcast. Together, these programs form a comprehensive ecosystem addressing education access, leadership development, and feminist empowerment across Kenya.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Washa Program A leadership development program for young women aged 18-35 that builds conceptual clarity, strategic visioning, and movement-building from a transformative feminist perspective, and supports implementation of social action projects over a two-year cycle.
- Angaza Program A multi-year comprehensive high school scholarship program awarded to high-performing girls from Kenya's rural and low-income communities, especially in Arid and Semi-Arid counties, with post-high-school scholarship pathway support.
- Urithi Program A girl-centered leadership development program equipping adolescent girls and young women with skills training, comprehensive health and human rights education, psycho-social support, and mentorship through partner schools.
- Manyatta Homeschooling Program A community-driven non-formal education program for out-of-school girls aged 15-25 in Kenya's ASAL regions (Samburu, Kilifi, Kwale, Turkana), providing foundational literacy and numeracy, civic and rights education, and transferable life and entrepreneurial skills.
- Aunty Salama WhatsApp Chatbot A WhatsApp-based chatbot that provides adolescent girls and young women with credible, age-appropriate Sexual Reproductive Health Rights information and resources, with age verification gating access.
- Self-Love Journal A guided journaling resource for teen girls with positive affirmations, reflective prompts, letters to girls, creative activities, girl spotlights, and fun facts to encourage self-expression and self-celebration.
- Chini Ya Mbúyú Podcast An unscripted podcast advancing feminist principles and sharing stories and lived experiences of women across Africa to inspire young women and girls to rise and occupy space.
Quantifiable outcome
- 268 scholarships awarded, 457 entrepreneurs trained, 2,837 young women and girls mentored, 400,000 community members impacted over 20 years
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use akili dada
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
akili dada technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
akili dada partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Photographers Without BordersminorChristina Callaway (River) from Photographers Without Borders collaborated with Akili Dada to create a portfolio of scholars, documenting their stories to underscore the critical role of girls' education.
- CUGI LimitedcoreCUGI Limited was contracted to design and deploy the Aunty Salama WhatsApp chatbot on behalf of Akili Dada. The chatbot provides SRHR information to adolescent girls and young women.
Scale indicators15 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
akili dada competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- WE Charity: An international development and youth empowerment nonprofit combining service with leadership development programs for young people. Comparable in the youth leadership development and service-learning orientation but operates a much broader portfolio.
- Plan International: A large multinational NGO focused on children's rights and girls' equality with significant programs in Kenya. Operates a much broader portfolio but shares the same child rights, education access, and harmful-practice prevention agenda in overlapping Kenyan counties.
- Girl Effect: An internationally funded nonprofit using media, mobile, and brand to empower adolescent girls globally. Comparable to Akili Dada in its SRHR-and-leadership agenda via Aunty Salama, but operating at much larger global scale.
- The Malala Fund: A globally recognized nonprofit advocating for girls' education in regions including parts of Africa. Shares the girls' secondary education advocacy theme and operates at significantly greater scale and brand recognition.
Direct peers
- CAMFED (Campaign for Female Education): CAMFED is a pan-African nonprofit supporting girls' education and young women's leadership across multiple sub-Saharan African countries, closely paralleling Akili Dada's education-plus-leadership model. Both organizations combine scholarships, mentorship, and alumnae networks to advance girls from school into leadership roles.
- African Leadership Academy: ALA identifies and develops young African leaders through a leadership-focused secondary education and network model. While broader (gender-inclusive), the leadership incubation approach for African youth is highly comparable to Akili Dada's Washa program.
- Kakenya's Dream: A Kenyan-founded nonprofit that educates and empowers girls from rural Maasai communities through scholarships, mentorship, and leadership programs. The most direct geographic and demographic peer to Akili Dada, targeting at-risk Kenyan girls with similar interventions.
Emerging players
- Equality Now: An international human rights NGO that addresses harmful practices including FGM and child marriage. Directly comparable to Akili Dada's work tackling FGM and child marriage in Kenyan ASAL counties, though it operates primarily as a legal-advocacy organization.
- African Women's Development Fund: A pan-African grantmaking organization supporting women's rights organizations across Africa. Relevant as an adjacent ecosystem player supporting women's movements, overlapping Akili Dada's feminist movement-building mission from the funder side.
Regional players
- FAWE (Forum for African Women Educationalists): A pan-African NGO promoting girls' education and women's empowerment across multiple African countries. Highly comparable mission (girls' secondary education, scholarships, leadership) with a stronger regional multi-country operational footprint than Akili Dada.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
akili dada social profiles
Digital presenceakili dada financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
akili dada leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
akili dada funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
akili dada M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about akili dada
What does akili dada do?
Akili Dada is an African women-led leadership incubator that delivers education access, scholarships, mentorship, and feminist leadership development programs to girls and young women from underserved communities in Kenya. Its core offerings include the Washa leadership program for young women aged 18-35, the Angaza multi-year high school scholarship program, and the Urithi girl-centered leadership development program, complemented by the Manyatta Homeschooling initiative for out-of-school girls. The organization supplements these programs with digital resources including the Aunty Salama WhatsApp chatbot for sexual reproductive health information, the Self-Love Journal, and the Chini Ya Mbúyú Podcast.
Is akili dada a public or private company?
akili dada is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was akili dada founded?
akili dada was founded in 2005. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is akili dada based?
akili dada is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, in the Africa region.
How does akili dada make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Donations and Grants are the primary driver. The others are fiscal Sponsorship.
Who are akili dada's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are WE Charity, Plan International, Girl Effect and The Malala Fund. Direct peers are CAMFED (Campaign for Female Education), African Leadership Academy and Kakenya's Dream. Emerging players are Equality Now and African Women's Development Fund. FAWE (Forum for African Women Educationalists) is listed as a regional player.
Does akili dada have an API?
No public API is recorded for akili dada.
What industry is akili dada in?
akili dada's product category is Girls' Education and Leadership Development. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGABAG, Child Protection & Child Rights, with a secondary code of EDAAAFAF, Family & Parenting Education (Family Literacy, Parenting Skills). Its NAICS code is 62411 and its SIC code is 8300.