Since crowdfunding and shipping the first Kano Computer Kit, to 86 countries, we’ve built the company and its products for the 99% — to open minds and increase access.
Diversity & Inclusion is an integral part of Kano. It has been since day one.
What follows is only a selection, “the tip of the iceberg,” of what Kano has done and is doing to empower those who have been traditionally excluded.
1% of the company’s equity is committed to the Kano Academy, our not-for-profit project to empower young makers worldwide. We built this into our cap table from the get-go. 1% of all Kano products sold are donated to Kano Academy initiatives. For example, in the USA, UK, and around the world:
Kano empowers disadvantaged American communities, in partnership with ConnectHome and the Department for Housing and Urban Development. (WATCH). 15+ major cities so far.
“The tech pipeline for minority students and kids from low-income backgrounds is very low. This is where it starts. We started working with Kano, and we were blown away, with how well the instructions were written, how well the pieces were put together, and that kids could do it by themselves.” -Amber Petty, Senior Manager, Everyone On
Empowering girls and boys across Africa, in Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Uganda. Creating a safe place to learn and play, a mentor to inspire, and access to technology. (WATCH).
“It’s like a cheeky game, to make and fix the computer. It’s helping me, because when I grow up I want to be a journalist, so I have to communicate with people like this.”
Providing kits and software and mentorship. Over 1,200 young girls empowered in 2019.
Funding, donating, and teaching in Syrian refugee camps in Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon, where 2/5ths of children are out of school. Working with Save the Children, the Catalyst Foundation. Watch here. Computing/coding confidence increased, from 50% of the students to 76% after the programs.
“The idea that you can build something and the confidence it gives kids is very powerful,” Dr Karen McBride, Senior Education Specialist at World Learning.
Developing job skills, creativity, and opportunities for underprivileged students in Bangladesh, in partnership with the British Council. 96% of students expressed interest in learning more about technology and coding after participating in the Kano Library Program.
In Sierra Leone, working with the foundation of a teen inventor, from Freetown, who built radio stations out of trash — Kelvin Doe. We bring DIY computers to those who never had one, starting their journey toward a better future. “We have the talent, we need the equipment.”
We started the company because 99% of the world’s technological ability is held by 1% of 1%. The gap between that small fraction, with the opportunity to shape technology, and the rest of us, who can only use it, is one of the defining problems of the century. When kids solve this problem, using Kano tools, we highlight them. Adrian started on one of our first computers five years ago. Now he’s on the Kano PC, making music and applications. He’s been highlighted as a leader in his community too. We built a campaign with him as the face:
In Kenya…
We have shared 20,000 devices through the Argentinian Ministry of Education, to underprivileged kids across the country.
“Kano is using its unique technology to teach children to code in UK schools. Just think of the impact in India,” British PM Theresa May.
The program empowered the donation of Kano computers to low-income kids in India…
One of our alumni, Ladi Adenusi, using Kano to teach back home in Nigeria.
There’s much more, running workshops with She+ (we are 45% female as a team), and the Bretaeu Foundation… From BF’s impact report, “Students’ motivation to attend the coding club was overwhelmingly clear in the 100% attendance rates achieved by all participants / Children were positively challenged by this deliberate lack of teacher support, which built independence / Observation data shows that all children improved in technological competency, demonstrating ability to manage basic software and hardware functions.”
The three Tower Hamlets schools in which we did the below case studies are >90% Black Asian or Middle Eastern and chronically underfunded. You can see what a year of Kano does for these kids’ confidence and skill set below.
What gets partners excited about the Kano PC is its combination of performance, price point, and innovative design. It provides a better Windows 10 value proposition at a low price point than the established offerings. Due to historical circumstances, as we have seen with our prior products, many of the purchasers and beneficiaries will come from traditionally disadvantaged communities.
We can’t change the past, but we can equip today’s rising generation to make things better — make a better future. We can equip teachers with a laptop that not only fits into their budget but empowers them to deliver next-generation curriculum requirements (without having to spend more $). We can help communities in Tallahassee build weather stations; schools in Boston, build organic gardens; groups in Africa and in refugee camps, create improved libraries, after-school clubs, and living rooms.
Important note: We research and develop ALL our products in low-income and under-developed contexts. The low-cost hardware and rich self-guided software have been specifically engineered to increase access.
