The Kenyan government, through the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, estimates that approximately 3 million Kenyans are working abroad, with most of them working in Gulf countries and other regions like Europe and the US.
Paul Musumba belongs to the latter category, working as an education consultant in Philadelphia, the USA. His firm, eduPrime LLC, employs at least seven full-time staff and caters to at least 7,000 students in Philadelphia and Atlanta.
Speaking about his journey in an interview with Chams Media, Paul stated that he began his academic journey in higher education at the Kenya Polytechnic (now known as the Technical University of Kenya), where he studied chemistry.
After relocating to Philadelphia in October 2008, he enrolled at Drexel University, a private R1-level research university located in Pennsylvania. In 2010, he graduated from the institution with a B.S. in Biology and Organic Chemistry, an experience that helped him bridge into the American education system.
Around 2012, he transferred to Temple University, where he earned his master’s degree in Chemistry and Computer Science with Teaching, Organic and Computational Chemistry in 2016.
Paul attended university through a mix of government funding and scholarships. As a beneficiary of these programs, he was required to teach at the university level after graduation.
After graduating from Temple, he launched his teaching career. Over the course of about seven years, he taught high school chemistry and also worked as a mathematics tutor or adjunct lecturer at Temple University.
It was during his time in the classroom that Paul spotted a critical academic gap. “I found that many children read at a 7th-8th grade level, and yet they are at an 11th-grade reading level,” said the Nairobi High alumnus. “So, as a teacher, I decided to figure out how I could close that gap. I realized that I couldn’t teach children how to read and still teach them chemistry.”
Consequently, he decided to step out of the classroom and start his own company to address that gap. His company is called eduPrime LLC—a moniker for “premium education.” eduPrime focuses on literacy development, personalized tutoring, and academic support programs tailored for underperforming students.
Its mission is to equip learners with foundational reading and comprehension skills so they can thrive in science and other subjects. With time, the company thrived to the point where Paul employed other experts.
“We have about 7 full-time employees and about 20 part-time employees,” explained the Pumwani-born teacher. “At the moment, the company caters to about 5,000 students in Philadelphia every day. We also have a satellite office in Atlanta, where we serve about 2,000 students.”
Aside from him, Paul has brought other Kenyans on board as part of the eduPrime team. “One Kenyan, Charles, is the head of education and programming. Another Kenyan, Angela, is the head of procurement. Another Kenyan, Joel, is the head of data analysis. So, we work together,” he explained.
Speaking of challenges, he said that living and working abroad is not a bed of roses. “This is a country in which you have to work very hard. You also have to be smart in what you are doing,” he said.
To begin with, he cited the cost of living in the U.S. as extremely high. While menial jobs are an option, they often cannot provide enough to meet daily needs. “What people never realize is how much hard work you have to put in before you even start living here,” he said.
However, for him, going back to work in Kenya is not an option. “I have been trained to teach in America. I don’t have the credentials to be a teacher in Kenya. The Ministry of Education does not even recognize my experience. So, it’s a bit hard for me to go back.”
Despite his extensive teaching experience in the U.S., Kenyan regulations require locally trained teachers to be familiar with the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), and certifications earned abroad are not automatically accepted. Kenyan teachers must be accredited by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).
Nevertheless, the self-proclaimed bachelor is content with his thriving career in the US.