#MyLittleBigThing is an initiative by MK-Africa, a woman-owned SME based in Nairobi, Kenya, that offers sustainability training, strategy and reporting consultancy to companies creating measurable social, economic and environmental impact.
Through partnerships with Safaricom, the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, PKF East Africa, South African Airways and Crew 2030, MK-Africa trains, mentors and supports young people to innovate and build social enterprises based on the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
We're inspired by Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai's "little thing" of planting trees — small acts compounded over time. Our AI tutor Professor Mambo carries that spirit into every lesson.
The numbers come straight from the UN. The story they tell is the entire reason this programme exists.
In 2019, MK-Africa partnered with TIFA Research to survey 622 students from 42 Kenyan universities on awareness of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. What we found shaped the programme.
Source: MK-Africa × TIFA Research, 622 students across 42 universities · 2019
The 17 SDGs are too broad to tackle at once. We focus each year's Challenge on a cluster — so finalists go deep, not shallow.
Unfinished business from the MDGs — poverty, hunger, health, education, gender.
New business not covered by the MDGs — water, energy, work, industry, cities.
The Green Agenda — consumption, climate, oceans, land.
Peace, justice, partnerships — plus an open track for cross-cutting ideas.
Raise awareness of the SDGs. Nurture innovative businesses anchored on sustainability. Transform the livelihoods of young people in Africa. And engrain the sustainability agenda inside learning institutions.
Three programmes that work together — a campus club network, a public knowledge platform, and an annual venture competition.
SDGs Clubs at African universities, an online learning platform at learning.mylittlebigthing.com, and a Cambridge ISL scholarship reserved for the Challenge top three.
Webinars, white papers and partner events that keep the SDG conversation alive year-round. Past speakers include the UN Global Compact CEO Sanda Ojiambo and former Kenya ICT PS Prof. Bitange Ndemo.
The Annual SDGs Innovation Challenge, the year-long Mentorship for Leadership Program, and the Ambassador Program for alumni who run SDGs Clubs on their campuses.
The internal compass that keeps the programme honest as we scale.
Every example, mentor and case study is rooted in African contexts. We are not translating Silicon Valley.
Applying, learning, attending and pitching is and stays $0. Cost is never the reason a young African doesn't try.
Every course ends in a working MVP. Every Challenge ends in a public Demo Day. No theoretical certificates.
We report cohort sizes, completion rates and venture outcomes annually. No vanity metrics. No rounded marketing figures.
Africa's next decade won't be built by big plans — it'll be built by a thousand little big things.
— Muthoni Kanyana · Founder, #MyLittleBigThing & MK-AfricaFrom a single Nairobi cohort to a continent-wide platform — every stop along the way.
Muthoni Kanyana founds #MyLittleBigThing under MK-Africa, partnered with the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership in South Africa.
After the TIFA research, the Challenge moves to a thematic SDG approach. 2019 focuses on the "unfinished business from the MDGs".
SDGs 6–11. Online award ceremony with Sanda Ojiambo and Prof. Bitange Ndemo. UNDP-partnered Youth Digital Inclusion Webinar Series launches.
The Challenge focuses on consumption, climate, oceans and land. Reach expands across East Africa.
Safaricom crowns the 2023 champions: Ian Nyongesa (EduYetu · SDG 4), Collins Nyakoe (GreenLead · SDG 13) and Gladys Mwende (GreenTech Collectors · SDG 13).
The 2026 cohort opens later this year — free for every young African with an idea worth backing. Join the waitlist now.
Your AI tutor for SDGs and venture-building. I can explain the goals, help shape your idea, prep your Demo Day pitch, and answer in four languages.
You can switch language any time — just ask.
Hi friend. I'm Professor Mambo — your AI tutor for SDGs and venture-building. Ask me anything.
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