Nigerian edtech startup AltSchool Africa expands into Kenya

The Nigerian edtech startup AltSchool Africa, known for its likeness to the US coding bootcamp BloomTech, has expanded its operations to Kenya, its second-largest market in terms of revenue.

Adewale Yusuf, the founder of AltSchool Africa, confirmed this development in an interview. With Kenya contributing the second-highest revenue, the startup will now offer more hands-on support to its Kenyan customers. Moreover, it aims to expedite the process of local payments.

Adewale Yusuf said, “We’re not new to the people, but this will give us the opportunity to expand.” The company’s Kenyan operations are headed by Country Manager, Tabitha Kayvu.

Since its inception in 2021 as an online platform offering diplomas in engineering, data, and business analytics, AltSchool Africa has grown beyond Nigerian borders. It has now established its presence in the US and Rwanda, with a Norrsken hub office opening in 2023.

AltSchool Africa credits its successful expansion in Kenya to key partnerships with local stakeholders. The company mentioned, “We are currently negotiating with various agencies to ensure Kenyans have the appropriate access to globally sought-after skills offered by AltSchool.”

AltSchool Africa has diversified its offerings and now provides short courses on sales, content, and music creation in English. The startup will continue these courses in Kenya and also plans to offer courses in Swahili.

AltSchool, founded by Adewale Yusuf, Akintunde Sultan, and Opeyemi Awoyemi, is an edtech startup targeted at addressing the skills deficit highlighted by the disparity between the 10 million job seekers and 3 million employed individuals in Africa. The company offers skill-building programs in business, data, engineering, media, and the creative industry.

The startup provides courses at flexible rates ranging from $20 to $50 monthly. AltSchool also adopts the income-sharing agreement (ISA) model popularized by companies like ALX. This method involves students agreeing to give a percentage of their future income in return for decreased upfront expenses.

Yusuf noted that AltSchool has assisted approximately 60,000 learners across 105 countries and generates $3 million in Annual Recurring Revenue, which is the revenue it anticipates earning annually from its customers. AltSchool has plans to intensify its presence in its current markets in the future.

The edtech startup has previously received funding from the $30 million Rwandan Innovation Fund and raised nearly $3 million in May of last year, along with $1 million in pre-seed funding in 2022.

Commenting about the company’s future, Yusuf expressed the desire to “deepen our presence in existing countries.”