Boris Bulayev

Organization Focus
Educate! transforms secondary education in Africa to teach young people to solve poverty for themselves and their communities. We provide youth with skills training in leadership, entrepreneurship, and workforce readiness along with mentorship to start real businesses at school. Our goal is to make this practical, skills-based model part of national education systems across Africa. In 2018, we’re working in 175 secondary schools in Rwanda and over 700 schools in Uganda, reaching over 42,000 students intensively and 530,000 more broadly.

My plans with the 2018 Klaus J. Jacobs Award
At Educate!, we see education reform as the most cost-effective way to make a large-scale, sustainable impact on millions of young people across Africa. The 2018 Klaus J. Jacobs Award will provide us with the incredible opportunity to invest in further learning, testing, and iteration around the question “how do proven solutions integrate into national education systems?”. We believe that successfully answering this question has the potential to unlock opportunity for millions of African youth, so continued research and development for our government integration solution is our top organizational priority.

How will my work change children’s and youth’s lives?
Educate! equips youth with key 21st century and employability skills, which help them to build confidence, discover their passion, and succeed in the challenging labor market they will face after school. Through our program, youth learn skills like problem solving, critical thinking, teamwork, grit, conflict resolution, and entrepreneurship. These skills not only enrich our students’ personal development, but also ensure that no matter what challenges they face in life, they will be better able to create their own opportunities, overcome obstacles, and manage risk.