About Kabakoo
World-class expertise. First-hand knowledge of the problem.
Kabakoo is led by people who know first-hand the challenge of achieving economic mobility in West Africa. Our CEO, Michèle Traoré, was raised in Timbuktu, came through an international media career, and won the Elevate Prize. Our Chief Learning Officer, Dr. Yanick Kemayou, went from street vendor in Yaoundé to a PhD in economics, summa cum laude, and teaching at the Sorbonne. Our Head of Technology entered the first cohort as a learner and is now one of 8 Amazon "Now Go Build" CTO Fellows worldwide. More than 90% of the team share our learners' backgrounds.
Kabakoo means to wonder. The premise hasn't moved since day one: fuse high-tech to indigenous knowledge, and treat the mindset of a learner as seriously as the curriculum.
Why Mali first? Extreme testing. What works in Mali transfers more easily to other countries than the other way around.
Team
20+ people, 11 nationalities
The team is 20+ people across 11 nationalities, based in Bamako, with a co-learning space in Ségou and a permanent pole in Lomé. More than 90% of staff share our learners' backgrounds.
The culture
Working at Kabakoo
At Kabakoo, we offer a unique work environment inspired by a campus-style atmosphere. In most rooms of our co-learning spaces, everyone works barefoot in open spaces designed for focused and creative work, without personal offices. Colleagues sometimes even take turns cooking for each other.
Fair compensation
In addition to our unique benefits, we don't compromise on fair pay. Our interns earn 3 times the minimum wage in Mali. (Well, as of August 2026, this is valid for all colleagues but the founders; their fair pay is work in progress.)
Humblacious people
Crazy audacious (and extremely hardworking), but radically humble. Because we can make learning work for millions only if we never stop learning hard.
Diversity is our lived reality
Our team represents multiple nationalities and speaks 10 different mother tongues. We strive to build and nurture a team at the very image of the model of society we want to make emerge: open, plural, and diverse.
Mindfulness and well-being
Every colleague is trained in non-violent communication during their onboarding, with regular refreshers. Every Monday, work ends at 5 PM for an afterwork session of art, slow food, and good vibes. In our team surveys, an average of 94% of colleagues said these activities benefited their well-being, and they rated the experiences 6.2/7 for strengthening team relationships and 5.9/7 for reducing stress.
Continuous learning and growth
We invest in our team through coaching and financing access to training. Our Weekly Purpose & Challenges meetings blend university seminars, book clubs, and pep talks to keep us inspired and growing. That's also why every 18 months we kill Kabakoo: the whole team, from interns to founders, answers one question in a structured pre-mortem, "It's twelve months from now and Kabakoo has closed down. What happened?" Every post-it gets discussed. Three rounds since 2021 have built a longitudinal dataset of organizational fear and anticipation. Let us know if you are curious about the results :-)
The Kabakoo crew
Here is our team of Freaks & Misfits!
Governance
The board
The board was formed in August 2025 and met most recently in London in April 2026.
- Dr. Abeba Birhane | Founder of the AI Accountability Lab at Trinity College Dublin; TIME100 AI
- Lea Buck | Board Co-Chair | Managing Director, Azurit Foundation
- Cheick Diallo | Designer and architect; work in the permanent collections of the Centre Pompidou and the Vitra Design Museum
- Bankaly Kaba | Finance; formerly J.P. Morgan, Nomura, and State Street
- Dr. Temina Madon | Board Chair, Co-founder of the Agency Fund; founding Executive Director of CEGA at UC Berkeley
- Michèle Traoré | Co-Founder & CEO
Legal & registration
Kabakoo Academies is the operating name of Kabakoo - La Maison de l'Etonnement, registered in Mali, with a supporting German Verein (association) registered in Paderborn and another supporting association registered in Paris, France.
The horizon
Ten hectares for the Highdigenous Campus
The signed convention with Mali's Ministry of Digital Economy commits a minimum of 10 hectares of land for a future Highdigenous eco-campus, built with local materials and a regenerative approach. Picture our labs running on a larger scale.
Track record
Milestones
- 2019Founded in Bamako; first cohort, including Djimé Sacko; Machine Hacking program with the Maryland Institute College of Art
- 2020WEF "Schools of the Future," 1 of 16 worldwide; BEAT Covid-19 program; mask initiative (16 tailors, ~100,000 masks, the EU contracted 40,000); pilot RCT recruitment begins
- 2022Pilot evaluation cohort baseline with the University of Paderborn
- 2023First peer-reviewed findings (Academy of Management Proceedings); Bamako.ai Season 1 reaches 100K+; Highdigenous Architecture program launches; 20,000 registered learners
- 2024WEF "AI in Education 4.0" case study, 1 of 9; Bamanankan AI Mentor launches; Bamako.ai Season 2 (~4,000 in person); Youth Trust Survey (N=1,079)
- 2025Elevate Prize winner; board formed; World Bank Africa LEADS feature; Le Nid de Bamako built by 16 learners; Lomé pole opens
- Jan 2026MoU with Université de Lomé; three-year convention with Mali's MCENMA
- 2026AI for Global Development Accelerator (1 of 7); Apolitical Edge 50; expert input to the WEF's June 2026 report on the future of learning; Textile Lab opens in Bamako
- Aug 2026National upskilling program launches under the authority of Mali's Prime Minister; enrollment announced on ORTM; 43,373 registered learners