Malengo Secures $12.9 Million from The Shapiro Foundation to Expand International Education Pathways & Financial Security – African Business Innovation

The funding will support the African NGO’s vocational training and university education programs for low-income students and refugees across Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda, drastically boosting earning potential.

Malengo, a non-profit organization enabling international educational migration and economic empowerment for young people from East Africa, today announced it has secured $12.9 million in funding from The Shapiro Foundation. Structured as an innovative impact investment, the funding will allow Malengo to significantly expand its vocational training and university sponsorships to over 700 students in Germany over the next three years.

Founded in 2021 by Cornell University Professor Johannes Haushofer, Malengo’s mission is to unlock the full potential of students from low-income backgrounds in Africa, where almost 600 million people survive on less than $3 a day. By facilitating access to higher education and career opportunities in high-income countries, Malengo—rooted in rigorous research—demonstrates that educational mobility can drastically increase lifetime earnings and financial security.

Since its launch, Malengo has enrolled over 500 scholars, unlocking education, skills, and pathways to international career opportunities in fields such as healthcare, IT, and other skilled trades. The average incoming student lives on $1.40 per day before program entry; the program prepares them for graduate jobs in Europe with starting salaries above $40,000 per year. Because students and graduates often send money home, the program transforms lives not just for individual students, but for entire communities.

The Shapiro Foundation, which began working with Malengo in 2024, has reaffirmed its strong confidence in the organization with a $12.9 million investment, prompted by the success and progress of Malengo’s early cohorts. The funding will enable Malengo to scale its existing work in Uganda and Kenya and expand operations into Rwanda, where it has launched its first cohort of 53 refugee scholars this year.

“Malengo is addressing one of the most pressing challenges of our time by creating a durable solution and a path to self-reliance for refugees, while at the same time demonstrating refugees’ contribution to a destination country’s economy. We have seen the extraordinary progress Malengo has achieved over the past several years, and that success is exactly why we are deepening our commitment. Malengo combines clarity of vision with integrity, execution, and measurable impact, and we are proud to stand alongside them at this pivotal stage in their growth.”
 — Ed Shapiro, Trustee, The Shapiro Foundation

“The support from the Shapiro Foundation is an important vote of confidence in Malengo’s mission. I founded Malengo because international educational migration has the potential to dramatically and durably reduce extreme poverty not only for individual students, but for entire families and communities. This new investment by the Shapiro Foundation will enable us to expand into a new country, strengthen our existing programs, and transform thousands of lives.”
— Professor Johannes Haushofer, Founder & CEO, Malengo

Malengo employs a sustainable Income Share Agreement (ISA) model, originally piloted at Yale University in the 1970s and increasingly adopted in Germany since the 1990s. Under this model, scholars receive full financial support upfront—covering school costs, living expenses, language classes, and mentorship. Repayments start only once scholars graduate and obtain jobs earning above a minimum income threshold, ensuring no financial burden during low-income periods. This regenerative system enables each cohort to finance the next, multiplying impact across generations.

“Being in the Malengo program has been one of the most exciting opportunities of my life. Malengo is more than just a scholarship program—it’s a community that believes in young people from underprivileged backgrounds and gives them the tools to dream big and achieve those dreams in Germany.”
— Hellen Akubac Lual, Malengo Scholar

Malengo has also benefited from early support by investors, including GiveWell, Open Philanthropy, the Livelihood Impact Fund, and others, to lay the foundation for its growth. Today, a dedicated team of 20 full-time staff operates across East Africa and Germany with the goal of alleviating extreme poverty.