Ahmed Kura

Ahmed Kura is the Country Director and Co-Founder of the Kenya Drylands Education Fund, which he founded in 2013 alongside longtime Manchester resident Sarah Hadden.

One of the core missions of the organisation was to break down barriers to education in the remote Marsabit and Samburu regions of Northern Kenya.

Spearheading an educational cause is never easy, but Kura has broken the barriers to bring education to geographic regions where few would dare explore.

Thanks to the Kenya Drylands Education Fund, over 400 scholarships have been provided. The fund has also helped build schools, science centres, and housing in the remote parts of Northern Kenya.

One huge factor that drove Kura to start the fund is that he hails from Northern Kenya and understands the challenges faced by the community in accessing proper education and housing.

In counties like Marsabit and Samburu, it is estimated that three out of four children are not in school for one reason or another.

Kura is among the ten finalists for the Africa Education Medal 2024. Founded by T4 Education and the global tech company HP, the Africa Education Medal is Africa’s most prestigious education accolade.

His work through his fund earned him the tag "difference maker" by Mel Robbins — New York Times best-selling author and host of The Mel Robbins Podcast, the top-ranked education podcast in the world.