| Kenya’s pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 4 on inclusive and equitable quality education, has placed teacher education reform at the heart of national transformation. This paper aligns with the sub-theme Institutional Leadership for Curriculum Delivery and explores the role of donor institutions—specifically the Safaricom and M-Pesa Foundations—in strengthening curriculum implementation and institutional leadership through targeted, scalable interventions. It examines how philanthropic investments can address persistent gaps in teacher preparation, digital integration, and school-level leadership, especially in support of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC). Drawing from programme implementation data, strategic reports, and field insights, the paper presents case evidence from initiatives including infrastructure upgrades across 36 public Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs), the provision of digital learning tools to over 1,000 schools, and the roll-out of leadership programmes such as the M-Pesa Foundation Academy and the Citizens of the Future initiative. These interventions are projected to impact more than 300,000 students and 10,000 teachers by 2030. The findings highlight innovative practices in merging digital literacy with teacher development, and in strengthening institutional capacity for effective curriculum delivery. Despite this progress, Kenya’s expansive teaching workforce—currently over 320,000 strong—requires continued investment in professional development, deeper integration of 21st-century skills in pre-service teacher training, and enhanced leadership capacity among the 47 County Directors of Education and 46,000 school heads. This paper concludes that the Safaricom and M-Pesa Foundations’ strategic, systems-level approach offers a replicable model for education reform. It underscores the urgent need for stronger collaboration between donors, government, and academia to build a robust, future-focused teacher education system capable of supporting long-term national development goals. |
