RTI International has worked in Kenya for nearly 40 years, providing technical assistance, institutional strengthening, program support, and research.  In partnership with in-country institutions and the private sector, we lead and support efforts to improve:

Our regional office in Nairobi, Kenya, supports projects across the region.

Our experience and recent project implementation include:

Education in Kenya

  • More than a decade working in partnership with the Kenyan Ministry of Education
  • Lead implementer of the Tusome Early Grade Reading Activity which is supporting the Government of Kenya to improve the reading skills of 6.7 million students in public primary schools through carefully designed learning materials, proven teaching methodologies, and a tablet-based feedback and monitoring system (learn more about Tangerine).
  • Partner with the Center for Global Development and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to expand the collective knowledge about successful large-scale education programs 
  • Evaluating the impact of five large-scale interventions increasing play-based activities in low- and middle-income countries, including Kenya, through the Play Accelerator research program.
  • Increased measurement and implementation of school readiness programming for pre-primary children, including sufficient cognitive, physical, social, and emotional wellbeing through the Tayari Early Childhood Development Program.

Energy in Kenya

  • Lead implementer of two USAID-funded programs to improve energy access to millions of households and businesses: the Power Africa Off-Grid Program and the Power Africa East Africa Energy Program 
  • Improved human resources policies and practices for seven electric utilities in five countries to increase gender equity through the Engendering Utilities program. The project also undertook a first-of-its-kind study to examine the role of women and gender disparities within electric power distribution companies.

Environment and Water Resilience in Kenya 

  • Partnered with the World Bank and Aurecon AMEI Limited to support Kenya’s Water Resource Agency (WRA) to strengthen water resources management and planning
  • Conducted a research study to understand the extent to which regional infrastructure (water, transportation, renewable energy) can support green growth in East Africa, in partnership with PricewaterhouseCoopers, with funding from the government of the United Kingdom.
  • Assessed the performance of modeling approaches to estimate personal exposure to household air pollution in Kenyan homes.

Food Security and Agriculture in Kenya

  • Lead implementer of the Feed the Future Kenya Crops and Dairy Market Systems Activity , working to strengthen market systems to increase the productivity and market potential of Kenya’s farms. Over 160,000 participants have benefited from interventions and collaborating farms and firms have achieved $43 million in total sales.
  • Conducting research to reduce persistent acute malnutrition in Kenya’s Samburu and Turkana counties with partner Mercy Corps, under the USAID Nutrition in the ASALs Within Integrated Resilient Institutions (Nawiri) program.  
  • Conducted a field survey and analysis to better understand the barriers and motivations of rural Kenyan youth to embrace rural agricultural or pastoral livelihood activities when others seek to leave agricultural/pastoral livelihoods.

Governance and Economic Development in Kenya

Health in Kenya

Select Recent Project Experience in Kenya

ProjectFunderDuration
Western Kenya Sanitation ProjectUSAID2022-2027
Nutrition in the ASALs Within Integrated Resilient Institutions (Nawiri)USAID / Mercy Corps2019–2024
Feed the Future Kenya Crops and Dairy Market Systems ActivityUSAID2017–2022
East Africa Energy ProgramUSAID2018–2022
Power Africa Off-Grid ProgramUSAID2018–2022
Learning at ScaleCenter for Global Development/ Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation2019–2022
Tusome Early Grade Reading ActivityUSAID2014–2021
Global Network for Women’s and Children’s Health ResearchU.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development2001–2021
Kenya Youth Employment and Skills USAID2015–2020
Health Policy and Health Policy+USAID / Palladium2010–2020
Water Security and Climate Resilience in KenyaWorld Bank/ Aurecon AMEI Limited 2017–2020
The Tayari Programme - Getting Children Ready to LearnChildren’s Investment Fund Foundation2014–2019
Data Management System Development and External Monitoring for the Optimal Use of Antibiotics in Young Children at High Risk of Diarrhea Associated Mortality (ABCD Trial)Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation2016–2019
Policy Advocacy for Noncommunicable Diseases in AfricaWorld Bank2019
Monitoring and Evaluation of the Rockefeller’s Foundation Waste and Spoilage Initiative (Yieldwise)Rockefeller Foundation2016–2018
USAID Engendering Utilities ProgramUSAID2013-2018
The Role of Regional Infrastructure in Promoting Green Economies in the East African Community U.K. Department for International Development (DFID) / PricewaterhouseCoopers2016–2017
Evaluation Manager Girl’s Education Challenge Fund DFID2012–2017