August 4, 2025
Before that afternoon, she thought her career choices were limited to becoming a teacher or nurse. Her school couldn’t afford a career counselor, and no one had ever introduced her to the idea that science and helping people could lead to dozens of different professions.
Then her teacher handed her a phone and said, “Ask Rafiki”.
On WhatsApp, she typed: “What can I become if I love science but also like helping people?”
Within seconds, Rafiki AI — the friendly, always-available career advisor — replied with careers she’d never heard of, explained the steps to get there, and encouraged her on how to start now.
For the first time, her dreams felt bigger than her surroundings — and the path forward, clear.
A Bold Partnership to Bridge a Gap
In many affordable non-state schools, the staff list is lean by necessity. School owners often must choose between hiring more teachers or bringing in specialized staff like a career counselor. They know the life-changing value of career guidance. But tight budgets make it nearly impossible.
The result? Thousands of bright young minds — full of potential but with limited direction — are left to navigate career decisions alone.
To bridge this gap, SEED Care and Support Foundation partnered with the Kayode Alabi Leadership and Career Initiative (KLCI) to introduce Rafiki AI — Africa’s first generative AI career advisor — to leaders, teachers, and students in SEED’s network of affordable non-state schools.
This partnership began after SEED’s Executive Director, Mrs. Olanrewaju Oniyitan, personally tested Rafiki AI and saw its transformative potential. She knew it could help schools give students a clear view of their future without adding to their financial burden.
While global conversations about Artificial Intelligence often focus on fears that “AI will take people’s jobs,” in underserved communities it’s doing something profoundly different: AI is stepping into roles that have never existed due to financial constraints. It’s not replacing career counselors. It’s becoming one for students who would otherwise have none. And that’s the power of Rafiki AI.
The initiative aligns perfectly with SEED’s mission: ensuring no child is left behind, especially when it comes to making informed educational and career choices.
From One Training to 340 Lives Touched
On May 9, 2025, SEED hosted a Training of Trainers session for 27 school owners. These leaders learned to use Rafiki AI in their schools and extend its benefits to students and teachers.
Within weeks, 10 of the trained schools had retrained 70 teachers and introduced Rafiki AI to 276 students — 160 girls and 116 boys.
Now, those students are exploring careers from nursing to acting to accountancy and creating step-by-step roadmaps for their future just by putting a skilled, compassionate career advisor directly into their hands.
Safety First — Guardrails That Protect Students
Because Rafiki AI operates on WhatsApp and serves children, child protection is non-negotiable.
Hammed Kayode Alabi, Co-Founder of KLCI, explains:
“We knew young people might want to use it for other topics, so Rafiki AI has built-in guardrails. If a conversation goes outside career guidance, it flags it and redirects the user back to career-related questions.”
Safeguards include:
- Privacy protection: Secure storage of user data for career purposes only
- Bias prevention: Continuous testing to eliminate demographic or other biases
- Transparency: Clear communication of the tool’s capabilities and limits
- Human oversight: Trained staff can review and adjust AI responses when necessary
What Our School Leaders Are Saying
“With Rafiki AI, career counseling becomes easier and more personal.”
Mr. Opeyemi Olatunji, Gleam Stars Schools
“It’s friendly, easy to access, and provides immediate and satisfactory guidance.”
Mrs. Omowunmi Oyewole, Jochebed School
“Rafiki helps students develop critical 21st-century skills—confidence, communication, critical thinking, and creativity.”
Mr. Olukayode Okanrende, All Round Positive School
Join the Movement for Tech-Driven, Inclusive Education
Rafiki AI is more than a chatbot. It’s a bridge to opportunity — turning career dreams into practical, personalized roadmaps for students who might otherwise guess their way forward.
It proves that when AI is used intentionally and ethically, it doesn’t replace people — it expands access.
If you’re a school owner, educator, policymaker, or advocate for educational equity, you can be part of this change:
- Explore Rafiki AI in your school
- Partner with SEED to scale its reach to more underserved communities
- Collaborate on future-focused projects that put opportunity in every child’s hands
Contact us to learn how to bring Rafiki AI to your learning community. Together, we can ensure every child — regardless of background — has access to smart, compassionate, and personalized career guidance.
About Rafiki AI
Rafiki is Swahili for “companion” or “friend.” Launched by KLCI, Rafiki AI is a 24/7 AI-powered career advisor available on WhatsApp, designed for underserved and displaced youth. It offers free, personalized career guidance that students can access anytime, anywhere.
Within its first three months of launching, Rafiki AI:
- Served over 5,200 users.
- Exchanged more than 54,000 messages.
- Answered nearly 25,000 career questions.
- Operated across 50 countries and 5 continents.
Rafiki has been an eye opening experience for our teachers and most especially for our students because most of them were shy to meet their parents on how to balance their hobbies with the career preferences of their parents. Rafiki sorted that out. We love Rafiki at GREAT PRESTIGE SCHOOLS.
Rafiki AI has helped the teachers and parents in guiding students and choosing their career. It serves as a technical guide, which comes with ease for teachers and students. My students love to use Rafiki A I.