Innovation for Education Across many African countries, parents have numerous financial household priorities, Beatrices’ reality depicted that at an early age, as her parents educated her four siblings and herself. She recalls days that she stayed out of school as her parents struggled to raise tuition fees, among other basic needs. As a social worker in her community, she has continued to witness children experience worse circumstances than those she faced in her childhood. This current reality has fast tracked her initiative on the background that, most parents have no plans to fund the education of their children often leaving the children at the mercy of limited scholarship opportunities, bursaries, and well-wishers. Kenya has a dominantly informal economic sector, and access to credit facilities has always been hindered, as the prequalification often excludes low-income earning parents. As a result, many children from low-income Kenyan families miss school days, affecting student morale, poor academic performance, education retainment, future prospects amongst other merits of staying in school. This context led to the founding of Impertimus Education Investment (IEI), a Kilifi based financial social enterprise, that equips parents and guardians from lowincome households with financial skills and tools to educate their children with ease and meet the costs involved during the transition from primary to secondary school levels. IEI is founded by two young women, Beatrice and Katama. Together, they partnered to forge an innovation that would ensure and enable families to plan for their children’s education. Since its inception, IEI has launched a digital money lending platform, giving parents access to cash loans to meet termly costs of tuition fees. Prior to issuing loans, IEI conducts financial background checks of the respective parents to assess their level of income and credit worthiness. Additionally, parents are required to be active members of a ‘chama’. The enterprise has a flexible loan repayment plan that parents are free to choose a suitable plan not exceeding 6 months. As a result, children in the community have had uninterrupted learning which has significantly improved learning outcomes. Ultimately, the goal is to achieve an overall increase in the number of pupils and students who can access education. We celebrate Beatrice, an Akili Dada Community Leader who was also a 2020 finalist on the Top 35 under 35 Youth Agenda.
Beatrice Kache, a Community Leader in Kilifi County
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