From Teacher to Global Business Champion: How Lily Nanga-Kitala Built Her Education Enterprise

Kenyan entrepreneur Lily Nanga-Kitala, founder of Stepping Stone Elementary School in Nairobi, has been named the winner of the 2026 International Business Plan Competition, emerging ahead of finalists from the United States and Bulgaria. Her achievement marks the culmination of an entrepreneurial journey that began nearly two decades ago, when she left formal employment to raise her children and later turned a personal challenge into an education venture serving more than 1,500 students.

Nanga-Kitala's story is not one of overnight success or a carefully planned business launch. Instead, it is a story of gradual growth, persistence, reinvestment and learning through experience. What began with a mother looking for a school that met her expectations for her children eventually developed into a major educational institution with approximately 1,520 students and 180 employees.

A Personal Need Became the Foundation of a School

Nanga-Kitala did not initially set out to become an entrepreneur. After studying education at Kenyatta University, she began her professional career as a teacher. Her transition into business came later, following a move away from Nairobi, where she struggled to find a nearby school that offered the standard of education she wanted for her children.

Rather than compromise on what she believed her children needed, Nanga-Kitala decided to teach them herself. The arrangement soon attracted interest from a friend who asked her to teach her child as well. What initially involved only three students gradually grew to seven, turning what had been a solution for her family into the beginnings of a formal education enterprise.

At the time, the venture had limited facilities, little capital and no formal business plan. Yet the school continued to grow. Within roughly five years, the number of students had increased to almost 300, demonstrating how an idea rooted in a personal need could develop into a sustainable institution when combined with consistent effort and commitment.

Today, Stepping Stone Elementary School serves children from the age of three through junior secondary school. Its growth from a small group of learners to approximately 1,520 students illustrates the scale of the institution Nanga-Kitala has built over the course of her entrepreneurial career.

Building the Business Without a Shortcut

The early years of the school were characterised by significant reinvestment. Nanga-Kitala and her husband put virtually everything the business generated back into the institution, directing resources towards facilities, employees and day-to-day operations.

This approach meant that growth was gradual rather than immediate. Instead of extracting short-term returns from the business, the founders prioritised strengthening the institution itself. The experience highlights a common reality of entrepreneurship: building a sustainable organisation often requires business owners to delay personal rewards while investing in infrastructure, people and systems.

For Nanga-Kitala, the transition from teacher to entrepreneur also involved learning how to think about the organisation differently. Her experience as an educator had equipped her to focus on teaching and students, but running a growing institution required an entirely different set of skills involving leadership, finance, strategy and organisational management.

She later reflected on this distinction, acknowledging that while she had been effective at running the school as a teacher, she had not initially approached it with the mindset of an entrepreneur.

A Difficult Personal Chapter Changed Her Leadership

Nanga-Kitala's entrepreneurial journey took a major turn following the death of her husband. His loss placed her in a particularly challenging position as she took on responsibility not only for her family but also for the students, employees and institution they had built together.

The experience forced her to confront the sustainability of the organisation and consider how it could continue to operate and grow without depending entirely on her personal involvement. Questions surrounding leadership, systems, succession and long-term sustainability consequently became increasingly important.

During this difficult period, encouragement from a member of the Nehemiah community led Nanga-Kitala to enrol in Biblical Entrepreneurship in 2025. Initially, her primary motivation was to find a supportive Christian community while navigating a difficult stage of her life. The programme subsequently allowed her to reassess her business through the principles of faith, stewardship and leadership.

Strengthening Systems and Preparing for Growth

The programme encouraged Nanga-Kitala to examine areas of the school that went beyond its educational mission. She began focusing more closely on systems, leadership structures, sustainability and succession planning.

This represented an important shift in the evolution of Stepping Stone Elementary School. As organisations grow, founders often have to move from personally overseeing operations to creating systems that allow other leaders and employees to take responsibility. For a school with more than 1,500 students and 180 employees, this transition becomes particularly important.

Nanga-Kitala's experience demonstrates how entrepreneurship can evolve. The skills and instincts that help establish a small venture are not necessarily the same skills required to manage a large institution. Building stronger structures and empowering other leaders can therefore become essential to ensuring that growth remains sustainable.

Her faith also remained an important part of how she approached this process. Rather than viewing the business purely through financial performance, she increasingly considered its wider impact on students, families, employees and the surrounding community.

From Reluctant Competitor to International Winner

Nanga-Kitala's next major milestone came when she was encouraged to participate in the 2026 International Business Plan Competition. She was initially reluctant to enter the competition, but the preparation process ultimately became an important exercise in evaluating the organisation she had spent years building.

Preparing the business plan required her to revisit the school's mission, financial position, leadership structure, operational systems and future direction. In doing so, the competition became more than a contest. It provided an opportunity to examine the business critically and identify areas where it could become stronger and more sustainable.

Her efforts ultimately resulted in her being named the 2026 International Business Plan Competition winner, bringing the championship trophy back to Kenya. The recognition provides international visibility for both Nanga-Kitala and the education enterprise she has developed over nearly two decades.

Her success also demonstrates that entrepreneurial growth does not always follow a conventional path. There was no major launch, substantial initial investment or elaborate business plan behind the school's beginnings. Instead, the institution emerged from a practical problem, developed through years of reinvestment and evolved as its founder gained new business and leadership skills.

An Education Enterprise With a Wider Impact

Stepping Stone Elementary School has grown beyond being simply a response to one family's educational needs. With approximately 1,520 students and 180 employees, the institution now affects thousands of people directly and indirectly.

Its impact extends to students and their families while also creating employment and opportunities for educators and other members of the school community. This broader impact is an important part of Nanga-Kitala's entrepreneurial story because it illustrates how a small personal decision can eventually develop into an organisation with a much wider social and economic footprint.

The school's development also highlights the role that entrepreneurs can play in addressing gaps within their communities. Nanga-Kitala identified a need that was directly relevant to her own family and responded by creating a solution. Over time, that solution became available to many other families.

Faith, Resilience and the Entrepreneurial Journey

Faith has remained a recurring theme in Nanga-Kitala's approach to both her personal and professional life. Her participation in Biblical Entrepreneurship helped her connect business decisions with ideas of stewardship, leadership and long-term responsibility.

Her journey also illustrates how difficult personal experiences can reshape an entrepreneur's priorities. The loss of her husband forced her to confront uncertainty and responsibility at a time when the institution she had helped build was already significant. Instead of abandoning the business, she sought new knowledge, support and ways to strengthen its foundations.

When asked what advice she would give to someone struggling after losing a spouse or business partner, Nanga-Kitala offered a simple message rooted in her faith: “God still prevails.”

For her, the statement reflects the belief that difficult circumstances do not necessarily determine the outcome. Her own experience—from leaving employment and experimenting with different ventures to building a school and eventually winning international recognition—has become an example of perseverance through uncertainty.

From Three Students to an International Award

The scale of Nanga-Kitala's achievement becomes clearer when viewed against the origins of her business. The school began with just three students before growing to seven and eventually nearly 300 within its first several years. Today, it serves around 1,520 students and employs approximately 180 people.

The progression represents almost 17 years of entrepreneurial development rather than an overnight transformation. Each stage of the journey appears to have required a different form of learning, from teaching and operating a small school to managing a growing institution and developing systems for long-term sustainability.

Her victory in the 2026 International Business Plan Competition therefore represents more than a single award. It recognises the evolution of a business that began with a mother's search for quality education and developed through years of persistence, reinvestment, leadership development and adaptation.

Editor’s Note

Lily Nanga-Kitala's story offers a useful reminder that entrepreneurship does not always begin with a grand business idea or a large financial investment. In her case, the starting point was remarkably ordinary: a mother could not find the kind of school she wanted for her children, so she began teaching them herself. That small decision eventually developed into an institution serving more than 1,500 students. Her journey also shows that building a business is an ongoing process of learning, especially when an organisation grows beyond the capabilities and structures that sufficed in its early years.

Her international award is significant because it recognises not only the final business plan but the years of work behind it. The transition from teacher to entrepreneur, the loss of a business partner, the decision to strengthen leadership and systems, and the eventual willingness to compete internationally all shaped the journey. Nanga-Kitala's experience shows that sustainable entrepreneurship can be built quietly, through persistence and reinvestment, without shortcuts or a dramatic launch. Her story ultimately combines education, enterprise, resilience and faith, demonstrating how a response to a personal need can evolve into a business with a much broader impact.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Who is Lily Nanga-Kitala?

Lily Nanga-Kitala is a Kenyan entrepreneur and founder of Stepping Stone Elementary School in Nairobi.

2. What award did Lily Nanga-Kitala win?

She won the 2026 International Business Plan Competition, competing against finalists from the United States and Bulgaria.

3. How did Lily Nanga-Kitala start her school?

After moving outside Nairobi and being unable to find a nearby school that met her expectations for her children, she began teaching them herself. A friend subsequently asked her to teach her child, and the group grew from three students to seven.

4. How many students does Stepping Stone Elementary School have?

The school currently serves approximately 1,520 students.

5. How many employees work at the school?

Stepping Stone Elementary School has approximately 180 employees.

6. When did Nanga-Kitala begin her entrepreneurial journey?

Her entrepreneurial journey began approximately 17 years ago, after she left employment to raise her children and subsequently explored several business ventures.

7. What role did Biblical Entrepreneurship play in her journey?

Nanga-Kitala enrolled in Biblical Entrepreneurship in 2025. The programme helped her examine the school through the perspectives of faith, stewardship, leadership, sustainability and succession.

8. What was the starting point of Stepping Stone Elementary School?

The school began as a response to Nanga-Kitala's difficulty finding suitable education for her children after moving outside Nairobi.