From Dreams to Impact: 10 Moments That Defined 2025
25,000 Young Voices, 10 Stories, 1 Extraordinary Year
At the heart of this progress is the unwavering spirit of these young people, pushing through barriers with courage and determination. Yet their momentum is only possible because of you: our partners, donors, and investors. Your trust, collaboration, and investment keep learners firmly in the driver’s seat of their own development.
2025 was also a pivotal year in our organizational journey, as our founder transitioned leadership to our new CEO, Geoffrey Kasangaki. His vision and dedication are ensuring continuity and strengthening Asante Africa Foundation’s global mission to empower youth across East Africa.
Before we look ahead to 2026, we invite you to pause with us and celebrate the year’s most powerful moments. Here are our Top 10 Highlights, made possible through your steadfast support:
1. Extraordinary Youth Changemakers
In 2025, Asante Africa Foundation celebrates youth transforming challenges into impact—leading their communities and inspiring the world.
Alice (Kenya) – Amal Clooney Women’s Empowerment Award From a small Turkana village, 19-year-old Alice overcame early marriage pressures and the loss of her father. Through the Youth Livelihood Program, she launched a bead-making business supporting her family, culminating in the 2025 Amal Clooney Award in London—an inspiration for girls across her community to pursue education and independence. Watch Alice in Action
Pascal (Uganda) – King’s Trust Global Sustainability Award Pascal initiated a program that recycled nearly 300kg a month of plastic waste into household goods, which made significant reductions on local pollution. Honored at Buckingham Palace and in London, he demonstrates how small actions spark community transformation: “Real change begins in our communities…creating hope, opportunity, and a cleaner future.” Pascal
Stella (Tanzania) – Youth Leadership & Mental Health AwardStella empowers her peers through mental health advocacy while pursuing her studies, and she actively creates opportunities for other young people to thrive. Stella was recognized by the Unite The World With Africa Foundation for her exceptional efforts in mental health advocacy. She was invited to train new university scholars and received an award for her leadership and mental health outreach. As she shared, “This achievement is made possible by the skills I gained through Asante Africa Foundation programs.”
2. Girl-Led Action Against Child Marriage
At the 8th Annual Regional Girl Summit, Asante Africa Foundation Uganda partnered with Girls Not Brides to advance action against child marriage and teenage pregnancy. The Summit amplified female youth voices through testimonies, case scenarios, and competitions, which fostered collaboration among stakeholders committed to protecting girls’ education and rights.
A standout story was Gift, a high school senior supported through our scholarship program. Her father, once unsupportive, became a vocal advocate for girls’ education. He shared:
“Through the guidance and support of Asante Africa Foundation, I now actively support my daughter and advocate for other girls to stay in school and avoid early marriage.”
Gift’s journey, and her father’s shift to becoming an advocate, shows how empowered girls and engaged parents can spark community support for girls’ education and ending early marriage.
3. Youth Powering Community Change
In 2025, our programs reached over 25,000 young people across remote areas of East Africa, and the impact is moving well beyond the classroom. Students are applying their skills at home and in their communities—uplifting parents, strengthening local knowledge, and sparking change through creativity and initiative.
By actively involving parents, teachers, and community members, we strengthen family–school relationships, provide guidance, prevent early marriages, and reduce teenage pregnancies. Students are launching local initiatives, mentoring peers, and inspiring change, demonstrating how education transforms wellbeing and opportunities across communities.
4. Expanding Career Opportunities Through Digital Apprenticeships
Our Digital Employment and Entrepreneurship Apprenticeship equips rural youth with essential 21st-century skills for education, employment, and entrepreneurship. Unlike a short boot camp, this is a six-month, hands-on field apprenticeship, followed by intensive training in employment and business startup planning. Graduates earn globally recognized certifications, including Cisco, IBM, Google, and AWS.
26 participants graduated across Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, gained practical and technical skills which led to economic independence. Our newest ‘25-26 cohort includes single mothers leveraging technology to create thriving livelihoods while remaining close to their families—demonstrating how skills-based learning transforms lives in rural East Africa.
5. Digital Innovation in Action: Uganda’s Youth Take the Stage
The Government of Uganda invited Asante Africa Foundation to showcase its digital literacy initiatives at the Presidential Auditorium for International Literacy Day. Youth leaders and teachers demonstrated mastery of digital tools and government-approved content on the offline Kolibri E‑Learning platform, bridging literacy gaps in rural communities.
By presenting interactive, project-based learning directly to government officials, the youth highlighted how digital education makes learning engaging, accessible, and effective, even in areas with limited connectivity.
6. Celebrating New Beginnings and Academic Milestones
In rural Tanzania, fewer than 37% of children of secondary school age are enrolled, and only about 4% ever complete secondary school.
In 2025, Asante Africa Foundation scholarships supported 415 young learners from remote rural communities. 18 graduated university, 59 graduated high school, and 256 graduated middle school. A rare achievement given the steep barriers rural youth face. These students are not only learning—they are dreaming bigger, building brighter futures, and helping to close the rural education gap.
7. Entrepreneurship Mindset Translated to Business Enterprises
Our Business Enterprise Challenge competitions in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, in partnership with King’s Trust International, highlighted youth who used technology to design local solutions that tackle pressing community challenges. Students showcased creative, market-ready ideas addressing issues like deforestation, energy scarcity, food waste, and sustainable agriculture. Projects included Green Heat Charcoal, which converts used paper into eco-friendly charcoal to reduce deforestation and provide affordable energy; mushroom farming businesses that create local income and improve food security; and Black Soldier Fly Larvae livestock feed, which transforms food waste into protein-rich feed, cuts waste by 50–80% and lowers costs for farmers while supporting community health.
Building on this success, the program expanded to remote areas, empowering youth across East Africa to turn innovative ideas into scalable solutions that create lasting environmental, economic, and social impact.
Discover how these young innovators are turning ideas into impact
8. CEO Represents Asante Africa at the UN General Assembly
During UNGA 80 in New York, our new CEO, Geoffrey Kasangaki, in his first year leading the global organization following the founder’s transition, represented Asante Africa Foundation on the panel “Generation Potential—Powering Africa’s Youth Through Nutrition, Skills, Access & Opportunity.” Joining leaders from Food4Education, Junior Achievement Ghana, and ENDIP International, he highlighted bold solutions for advancing Africa’s youth.
By showcasing the impact of locally co-created programs, Geoffrey elevated the voices of the young people we serve and strengthened global partnerships, reinforcing Asante Africa Foundation’s commitment to youth empowerment across the continent.
9. Partnerships That Elevate Impact
Collaboration drives Asante Africa Foundation’s growth, challenging us to rise to the next level, learn from partners, and leverage resources to reach more young people with higher-quality results.
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- Tanzania – Imagine Worldwide reached 2,863 students through MsingiTek, boosting digital literacy, life skills, and 21st-century competencies, with plans to expand to 100 more schools.
- Kenya/Zimbabwe – CARE Zimbabwe engaged adolescents, teachers, and community leaders to study the link between education, gender, and climate change, advancing climate-resilient education.
- Global – Learning Equality continued to power our digital learning ecosystem by giving remote students access to world-class education through the Kolibri platform.
These partnerships push our learning, enhance our skills, and multiply our impact, ensuring more young people gain knowledge, opportunities, and the power to transform their communities.
10. Elevating East African Voices in the Global Education Community
Asante Africa Foundation contributed to global conversations on youth leadership, employment, entrepreneurship, and women’s empowerment. Youth and staff-led presentations at the international 2030 Global Schools Education Forum, partnered with Together Women Rise to spotlight digital and financial empowerment, and shared impact and evidence from our programs at the Comparative International Education Symposium (CIES).
These platforms amplified the real experiences and innovations of the young people we serve, strengthened global collaboration, elevated locally co-created models, and expanded opportunities for learners across East Africa.