ABOUT US
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Everyone has talent and potential but not everyone has access to opportunities.
We work to address this gap by partnering with rural schools and communities in East Africa to provide vulnerable and underserved youth with educational resources and support they need to succeed both in the classroom and beyond.
We are locally respected because our staff comes from the communities we serve. With input from parents and local leaders, our in-country staff and local youth leaders drive program design and are the face of our organization.
WE WORK IN RURAL EAST AFRICA
WHAT WE DO
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Rooted in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG Goals #4, #5, and #8), Asante Africa Foundation achieves results through a set of interlinked programs designed to alleviate poverty by fostering the development of educated and resilient youth.
Our integrated programs emphasize quality learning in the classroom, gender equity, work-life skills, and the power of STEM. Programs are evidence-based and designed to advance education, skill development, and opportunity creation.
Wezesha Vijana Program (SDG #5)
Empower girls with health and hygiene knowledge, finance, business, and social skills.
Accelerated Learning Program & Scholarships (SDG #4)
Ensure access to education through scholarships, provide quality training to teachers, and supply digital & low-cost resources.
Youth Livelihood Program (SDG #8)
Develop Africa’s youth through leadership, entrepreneurship, and job readiness training.
All of our programs have a focus on: Gender equality & equity, inclusion of the forgotten and marginalized, climate solutions & environmental sustainability, and community engagement.
Wezesha Vijana Program
Empower girls with health and hygiene knowledge, finance, business, and social skills.
Accelerated Learning Program & Scholarships
Ensure access to education through scholarships, provide quality training to teachers, and supply digital & low-cost resources.
Youth Livelihood Program
Develop Africa’s youth through leadership, entrepreneurship, and job readiness training.
All of our programs have a focus on: Gender equality & equity, inclusion of the forgotten and marginalized, climate solutions & environmental sustainability, and community engagement.
OUR MISSION
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Educate and empower the next generation of change agents,
whose dreams and actions transform the future for Africa and the world.
OUR UNIQUE APPROACH
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Our Learn-Do-Teach model and Pay-it-Forward philosophy enable young people to learn, practice, and teach essential life and career skills. The teaching of others deepens their knowledge and confidence. This integrated approach enables deeper learning and ensures they put their skills into practice within their communities.
LEARN
Youth learn life skills by developing personalized roadmaps, creating entrepreneurship and employability awareness, communication, and leadership skills.
DO
Hands-on experimentation turns concepts into reality and ideas into action, paving the way for community enterprises and workforce creation.
TEACH
Educated and empowered youth create ripples of change by collaborating and sharing knowledge with peers, siblings, parents, and younger students.
PAY-IT-FORWARD
Participants observe local challenges, and put solutions into action through community service. Sharing their skills instills confidence and enables young people to become active leaders in their communities.
OUR 2025 GROWTH STRATEGY
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Over the last 15 years, we have learned, refined, and strengthened our model based on evidence, external evaluations, and ongoing feedback from the youth we serve and their communities.
As we look to the future, monitoring and evaluation remains central to our growth model. So too does engagement at the local level. Guided by the inputs of our in-country teams and local youth leaders, by 2025, our programs will empower 1,600,000 young people in rural East Africa with skills and knowledge to become effective change agents.
2025 GOALS
UNLEASH AND AMPLIFY YOUTH POTENTIAL
Reach and impact 1,600,000 lives
FUEL THE VISION AND IMPACT
Secure a diversity of funds with global influence
DEEPEN AND STRENGTHEN
Strengthen our East Africa-led organization
OUR FOUNDING STORY
Asante Africa Foundation traces its origins to the collective vision of three accomplished women who shared a profound commitment to advancing education and empowerment in rural East Africa. This visionary trio, comprised of Hellen Nkuraiya, an esteemed Kenyan Primary School Headteacher; Emmy Moshi, a successful Tanzanian business owner; and Erna Grasz, a distinguished Silicon Valley Electrical Engineer, founded Asante Africa with the objective of equipping East Africa’s youth to confront life’s challenges with confidence, assert their rights, prosper in the global economy, and catalyze positive transformative change.
Initially rooted in two small villages in Kenya and Tanzania, Asante Africa’s primary focus centered on advancing girls’ education. However, the co-founders realized the imperative need for a multifaceted, systemic solution driven by local communities. This realization prompted the development of age-appropriate life skills, leadership training, and hands-on entrepreneurial initiatives tailored for primary and secondary school youth.