Educate!

24/09/2026

Nothing About Us, Without Us.

This week at , young people from Educate! and around the world shared what they need from education — during an interactive panel moderated by Transform Schools, People For Action and State of Secondary Education (SOSE) Collaborative.

Abbey and Jovannah, two Educate! Mentors from Uganda were joined by five young people from India and Latin America and education leaders from Global School Leaders, PEAS (Promoting Equality in African Schools), Echidna Giving , Fundação Lemann, and Girls Agency Lab Consulting for the conversation.

Speaking from both sides of the classroom — first as students, and now as mentors — Abbey and Jovannah shared a clear message:

Young people need more than access to education. They need the skills, practical experience, and mentorship to turn learning into opportunity.

Thank you to the hosts and panelists for the thoughtful discussion and reminder that young people should have a voice in shaping the education systems that affect their futures.

17/09/2026

Educate!’s CEO and Co-Founder Bulayev, and Director of Philanthropy Bersabel Mesgna will be in New York for events and convenings alongside the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

As Africa's workforce grows, young people must stay front and center on the world’s agenda. We're looking forward to engaging in conversations on jobs and livelihoods, education, scaling alongside government, and how emerging technologies like AI can better support youth for the future.

We’re eager to learn, share, and connect.

See you there!

06/08/2026

📣 We're excited to share Educate!'s 2025 Impact Report.

Over the past year, we reached more than 230,000 young people across East Africa through solutions designed to build practical skills, unlock economic opportunity, and drive lasting change for generations.

Across the region, we worked closely alongside government partners to help prepare young people for the realities of today's labor market. This included rolling out and scaling employment-focused subjects in secondary schools across Uganda, Rwanda, and Tanzania, and helping to build stronger, more resilient tech-enabled education systems.

We also delivered livelihood bootcamps for young people unable to access traditional education, with a focus on supporting girls and young women in rural communities furthest from opportunities. A new AI-powered business coach provided personalized coaching and support to budding young entrepreneurs growing businesses — while mindset interventions supported young people to build the confidence and agency they need to be resilient through challenges.

📖 View the full report to explore the milestones, highlights, and stories from 2025 — and the foundation that we’re building on in the years ahead.

👉🏿https://www.experienceeducate.org/reports-financials

25/06/2026

“The biggest thing I learned was ‘Yes, I can.’ After the bootcamp, I felt more confident,” says Fazira.

Growing up in Uganda, Fazira dreamed of becoming a fashion designer. But when financial challenges interrupted her secondary education, she began looking for new ways to pursue her passion and support her child.

When Fazira joined Educate!’s livelihood bootcamp, she saw a path forward.

One of the first sessions — “Yes I Can” — focused on building confidence. In a hands-on challenge, participants were asked to sell a simple pencil in their community, exchanging it for something more valuable. The exercise pushed Fazira outside her comfort zone, helping her practice communication, problem-solving, and initiative — and sparking a shift in how she saw herself.

Over the following weeks, Fazira continued to build on these skills. After the bootcamp, she sought advice from local tailors on fabric suppliers and pricing, enrolled in a tailoring course, and used a small amount of start-up capital to buy supplies.

Today, Fazira runs a successful tailoring business. On her best days, she earns approximately UGX 40,000 (USD $11), helping her support herself and her two-year-old child.

👉🏿 Read Fazira’s story:

Fazira dreamed of becoming a fashion designer from a young age, inspired by the African print dresses her mother made for special occasions. But after losing her father, leaving school, and becoming a young mother, that dream felt increasingly out of reach. When Fazira joined Educate!’s livelihood...

04/06/2026

How do we ensure evidence actually improves outcomes for young people?

At this year’s Evidence to Impact Symposium, Educate! Director of Impact Evaluation, Phillip Okull, will share how we’re using Rapid Impact Assessment (RIA) to strengthen youth livelihood solutions across East Africa.

📍 Session: Advancing Gender Equity in Youth Livelihoods
📅 Tuesday, June 9
📌 11:30–11:40 AM EAT

In this session, Phillip will share how real-time insights from our livelihood bootcamps are helping us adapt delivery and better support participation and success for girls.

One key insight: although many girls start with fewer skills and economic opportunities, they often make the greatest gains over time — helping close gender gaps in income and business ownership.

If you’re attending, we hope to see you there!

Population Council | African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) | African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP) | Restless Development

19/05/2026

Webinar this Thursday!

📍 Panel: Growing Access to Work-based Learning Experiences in Developing Countries
📅 Date: May 21, 2026
🕘 Time: 9:00–10:00 am ET / 3:00–4:00 pm CET / 9:00–10:00 pm HKT

Educates CEO & Co-Founder, Boris Bulayev will join an upcoming panel hosted by the World Bank Group and JA Worldwide to discuss how youth can gain practical work readiness skills — even where formal labor market opportunities are limited.

➡️ Register here: https://jaworldwide.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_2gW0370rQQabJCizwnzCWQ #/registration

Solutions for Youth Employment - S4YE

14/05/2026

On-the-job learning and early exposure to the labor market can help young people build practical skills and improve employability.

Yet, internships or apprenticeships often only reach a small minority of youth, especially where the formal private sector is small.

Join us for a conversation on expanding access to work-integrated learning for young people.

Educate!’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Co-Founder, Boris Bulayev, will participate in an upcoming panel hosted by the World Bank Group and JA Worldwide to discuss alternative models of work-integrated learning for young people at scale.

📍 Panel: Growing Access to Work-based Learning Experiences in Developing Countries
📅 Date: May 21, 2026
🕘 Time: 9:00–10:00 am ET / 3:00–4:00 pm CET / 9:00–10:00 pm HKT

Register here: https://jaworldwide.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_2gW0370rQQabJCizwnzCWQ #/registration

07/05/2026

At Educate!’s livelihood bootcamps, Youth Trainers like Abel create space for young people who are unable to access school to build practical skills and agency to start small businesses.

As a young entrepreneur, Abel draws on his own experience to mentor others. Passionate about farming, he runs a successful agribusiness growing rice, groundnuts, and other cash crops.

Through his guidance, Nangobi gained hands-on skills in market research, budgeting, and customer service — and the confidence to see herself as a problem solver.

Today, Nangobi runs a small food stall that supports her independence.

In Uganda, evidence from a small internally controlled study shows encouraging impact: livelihood bootcamp participants saw 66% higher incomes and a 28% increase in business ownership one year after.

▶️ Watch the video to hear directly from Abel.

23/04/2026

Across Tanzania, curriculum reform is translating into meaningful change: classrooms where students actively build skills, apply knowledge, and begin shaping their own economic futures.

Educate! is working with partners across the education and development sector to drive this shift.

Together with the Government of Tanzania and Leaders in Teaching (LIT) Tanzania — in partnership with Mastercard Foundation — we are strengthening teacher professional development to help educators deliver more practical learning in classrooms.

At the same time, we are supporting the nationwide rollout of the Business Studies subject, equipping students through hands-on projects that build skills for employment.

So far, 1,964 Business Studies teachers have been equipped to deliver the new curriculum, with these efforts projected to reach 333,256 students in the first year of secondary school.

“The new teaching methods are making students more active in class and helping them better understand the content,” says Seralin Sawa, a Business Studies Teacher in Dar es Salaam Secondary School.

👉🏿 Learn more about LIT Tanzania:

Across Tanzania, curriculum reform is translating into meaningful change: classrooms where students actively build skills, apply knowledge, and begin shaping their own economic futures. Through the Leaders in Teaching initiative, teachers are being equipped to deliver the new curriculum effectively,

09/04/2026

Mentorship is critical to improving outcomes for youth, especially young women, in regions where access to quality education and formal employment are limited.

In Uganda, our mentors and trainers support young people both in and out of schools by providing continuous coaching to better prepare them for the labor market.

Through Educate!’s Youth Entrepreneurship Training (YET), prospective mentors build the leadership and entrepreneurship skills to launch businesses, develop the growth mindset to pursue employment or further education, and gain the practical facilitation skills to mentor fellow youth.

YET’s hands-on sessions also help young mentors create safe learning environments and deliver gender-responsive training — supporting them to pass on the practical and transferrable skills that expand opportunity.

➡ ️ Swipe to see some reflections from young people who attended the recent YET training — pictured alongside Educate! staff.