This archive report was first published on 5 June 2020.
Published on June 5, 2020, by JOAN THATIAH
Helen Nyokabi, a 34-year-old mother of one, has been running a digital school since schools closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Nyeri-based entrepreneur, who is a certified accountant with an Information Technology degree from KCA University, created the digital platform in March 2019 for her 12-year-old son Baraka to have extra tuition.
Initially, Baraka was the only student on the platform, but as word spread, family friends began asking about it, and Helen and her husband Isaac Wangethi let in a few other pupils. The thought of making it a business had not crossed their minds.
However, with the pandemic, everything changed. Parents with children at home and no idea how to teach them began to seek out the platform, and Helen and her husband quickly decided to get more teachers on board and admit more students.
Today, the platform has 100 students, who pay Sh6,000 per month for virtual interactive lessons, homework, and assessment exams. The classes are offered by different teachers and run five and a half days a week.
As a non-teaching background holder, Helen works behind the scenes, running the system, ensuring classes run smoothly, allocating time tables, and admitting new students.
Her husband, Isaac, handles the marketing part of the business, while Helen reminds their team of teachers of their dream for the children on the platform.
Before the pandemic, some Kenyan parents were becoming more open to the idea of homeschooling, and Helen intends to keep the school open post-covid for those parents who might want to go this way.
