Learning from the Kibo Experience
Sharing our journey in building a new computer science degree program for African learners.
Since we announced Kibo’s closure, we’ve been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and stories of impact from our students, team, and broader community. We’ve also had many conversations to share our learnings with others building education programs in and for Africa. As we reflect on this chapter, we feel a responsibility to share our experiences—both the successes and the lessons learned—with the wider education community. Though our journey was shorter than we’d hoped, the insights we gained are valuable for anyone looking to innovate in higher education — especially in Africa.
The Challenge We Faced
Africa is at a crucial juncture. By 2050, its working-age population will surpass that of China and India combined. Yet, only 10% of young Africans attend university, compared to a global average of 38%. The continent's existing higher education institutions struggle with limited capacity, underfunding, and low quality. We saw an opportunity to help bridge this gap by preparing world-class technical talent in Africa for the global market.
However, knowing the problem and knowing how to solve it are two different things. Unlike traditional tech startups, where you can follow established playbooks, there’s no quick formula for launching a university.
Higher education moves slowly, and operates in a complex regulatory environment. It’s not possible to just “launch” an accredited university program. We were fortunate to learn from pioneers at institutions like Minerva, Make School (now part of Dominican), and others. Their guidance was invaluable, even if we sometimes learned the hard way by making mistakes they warned us about.
One of the things we are most proud of is the quality of our learning resources. As we discuss in some of the reflections below, creating quality curricula is a labor-intensive and expensive endeavor. Our curriculum, designed by experienced faculty and practitioners, was built to be rigorous and relevant. To extend its impact, we’ve open-sourced much of the material so others can benefit from it. You can access these resources here: https://kiboschool.github.io/kibo-toc/
Key Learnings
We've distilled our experiences into several key areas, each explored in depth in separate blog posts. Here's a snapshot of what learned:
Student Financing: The Critical Challenge of Affordability
Making quality education affordable in sub-Saharan Africa is an enormous challenge. Though we experimented with different models, including scholarships and deferred tuition, we ultimately closed Kibo because we did not have a path to scalable and sustainable student financing. Our conclusion? Solving the financing problem requires innovative partnerships between foundations, employers, and policymakers. Read more about this in Navigating Student Financing.
Designing a Degree: Balancing Innovation and Regulation
Creating a modern computer science degree from scratch required us to balance regulatory demands with innovation. We designed an intensive three-year program which emphasized practical skills alongside theory. We share insights on our curriculum development process, including our focus on cross-linked courses and separation of course design from instruction. Read the blog post on Designing a new CS degree.
Career Focused Education: Bridging Academia and Industry
Our goal was to equip students not just with academic knowledge, but with the skills and connections needed to thrive in the workforce. From real-world projects to professional mentorship, career readiness was woven into every aspect of our program. Our experience demonstrates that focusing on career readiness enhances rather than diminishes the value of higher education, setting students up for lifelong learning and success. Learn more about our approach in Making University Relevant.
Awesome Lessons: Highlights from the Kibo Curriculum
Our curriculum wasn't just about delivering knowledge—it was about engaging students in hands-on, practical experiences. In this post, we highlight four standout lessons that reflect our approach. From mastering unit testing and UI design to fostering entrepreneurial resilience and job hunting skills, each lesson was designed to deepen student engagement through real-world applications. These examples offer valuable insights into effective tech education. Dive into the details of these lessons in Awesome Lessons.
Building Community: Fostering Engagement in Online Learning
Community was at the heart of our approach to student engagement. Small support groups, student-led initiatives, and strong mentorship all contributed to a sense of belonging, even in an online setting. We share our experiments and key takeaways in Building Community to Support Online Learning.
Looking Forward
While Kibo’s time as an institution has ended, our mission remains as relevant as ever. The need for accessible, high-quality higher education is not just an African challenge—it’s a global one. By sharing our journey and open-sourcing our resources, we hope to contribute to the broader effort to transform education worldwide.
We look forward to seeing new initiatives emerge, and we remain committed to supporting this important work. If you’d like to connect or learn more, please reach out to us at: hello@kibo.school.
Onwards and upwards.