Lilian Kajo: How Success Followed Teacher Who Quit Job To Establish Own School In Kisumu

Lilian Mc’Kenna Kajo is the director of Zoar School, offering the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) curriculum.

She had taught for over 11 years in both private and public schools before she called it quits to start her own venture.

Zoar School opened its doors in 2021, and had to transition from the 8-4-4 system of education to the competency-based curriculum.

Here is Kajo’s story as told by WoK.

Before establishing her school, Kajo had taught for over a decade.

She established the school in January 2020 but closed down a while later due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In an interview with Nation, Kajo noted that the brief hiatus was a blessing in disguise as they got a chance to re-strategise.

“I had a small saving of Ksh 500,000 and with the help of my spouse, we managed to put our first structure, register the school and hire our start-up staff,” she said.

Just like any other business, Kajo further noted that she also experienced challenges while starting off.

“We hire teachers, and since we advocate for quality education, we rigorously train them, but unfortunately, with all the expenses incurred, we sometimes lose these teachers to either TSC or competitors,” she said.

After quitting her job, she disclosed that she had to undertake a course to be able to improve her financial management.

“I was unable to run the school with the pre-requisite  financial skills. I did not know how to separate my personal financial account from my business financial account,” Kajo added.

She further noted that she holds the opinion that entrepreneurship will always rank higher than employment.

“I now have more responsibilities that enhance my leadership skills, and I shall leave a legacy of my existence. My dream of touching and changing lives has also grown unlimitedly,” she said.