Scaling Business Coaching and Support to Young People Across Rural Kenya through Educate!’s AI-enabled Coach

Across East Africa, traditional schooling remains the primary pathway for young people to build the skills needed for today’s labor market. Yet, across the region, over 50% of young people are not in secondary school. For girls in rural communities, access is even more limited — just 1 in 20 are on track to complete secondary education. Few pathways exist for those who leave school to build the critical skills needed to earn a living.

We’ve set out to tackle this challenge — reaching youth farthest from opportunity and driving income gains where they’re needed most through livelihood bootcamps.

In Kenya, Educate! rigorously evaluated our livelihood bootcamp model to assess impact on key economic outcomes for young people. These evaluations surfaced important insights into both the model’s strengths and areas for deeper impact. 

Through this iterative learning process, a clear opportunity emerged: strengthening long-term economic outcomes — income, savings, and business resilience — through continuous coaching. The data revealed that many early-stage businesses falter over time, not because young people lack drive, but lack insight into business profitability as well as access to ongoing support.

This past year we began developing a scalable AI-enabled ‘business coach’  to support young people to succeed long after participation in the bootcamp experience. 

The early prototype of the coach — “SIFA” (meaning praise in Swahili) — is accessible via chatbot through accessible channels like WhatsApp and SMS. The tool is designed to be scalable and cost-effective, delivering real-time, personalized support that meets young entrepreneurs wherever they are and helps businesses continue to grow.

Each day, young people log sales and expenses, and the tool calculates profit, flags missing costs, and suggests immediate next steps. It also provides practical guidance on common business challenges, from managing customer credit and negotiating with suppliers to identifying target customers and making smarter restocking decisions.

Every interaction begins with a clear prompt, with Educate!’s human-support advisors available as needed. Advisors provide escalation for more complex challenges, as well as monitor coaching quality and youth safety.

We are developing the AI Coach through a rigorous discovery process, conducting in-depth research with bootcamp alumni — both those with active businesses and those whose businesses had closed — to understand the real barriers to business survival.

We are now prototyping the model, and early results are promising: young people who received coaching and support on the platform saw incomes increase by 62% from before the bootcamp to after.

Carolyn, a tailor in Kenya, shared how the coaching she received through the platform helped strengthen her business:

"SIFA’s guidance helped me better understand my business's financial health and identify complementary products to offer. In a short time, my profits doubled."

Watch Carolyn share her story below.