Led locally by SKEIYA founder Syombua A. Kibue, the partnership will bring Squid Academy’s esports curriculum, technology and competition ecosystem to Kenyan institutions.
Squid Academy has appointed SKEIYA Management, led by founder Syombua A. Kibue, as its exclusive territorial partner for Kenya, marking the next stage of Squid Academy’s expansion into structured esports education across the country.
The partnership brings together Squid Academy’s esports education technology and programmes with SKEIYA’s local market knowledge, institutional relationships and on-the-ground delivery capability in Kenya.
The goal is not simply to introduce more gaming into education.
It is to help Kenyan institutions turn existing interest in gaming and esports into structured opportunities for learning, competition, careers and student development.
Key Facts
Partners: Squid Academy and SKEIYA Management
Kenya lead: Syombua A. Kibue, Founder of SKEIYA Management
Territory: Kenya
Relationship: SKEIYA is Squid Academy’s exclusive territorial partner
Partnership effective date: 17 August 2026
Focus: Schools, universities, training centres, esports academies and other institutional partners
Infrastructure: Curriculum, LMS, tournament platform, assessments and educator resources
Local Leadership Matters
A major part of the partnership is the leadership of Syombua A. Kibue, founder of SKEIYA Management.
Syombua has been directly involved in shaping the Kenya rollout from the beginning, from reviewing the partnership structure against Kenyan requirements to completing product training, developing institutional opportunities and determining how Squid Academy’s programmes can be introduced across different education levels.
Rather than acting simply as a distributor, SKEIYA is being positioned as the local operator of the Squid Academy ecosystem in Kenya.
Syombua will lead relationships with schools, universities, training centres and prospective local partners, while helping adapt implementation to the realities of the Kenyan education and esports landscape.
During planning discussions, Syombua has consistently pushed for the partnership to address the full pathway rather than a single audience: competitive gaming and training, school programmes, university education, wellbeing and educator development.
That is precisely the kind of local leadership Squid Academy’s international partner model is designed around.
“There is already a strong conversation around esports and competitive gaming in Kenya. What we now have an opportunity to do is add structure around it - from how young people train and compete to how schools, universities and educators engage with the wider esports industry. The partnership with Squid Academy gives us the tools and curriculum to start building that ecosystem locally.”
— Syombua A. Kibue, Founder, SKEIYA Management
Building Esports Education Locally in Kenya
Introducing esports education into a new country requires more than providing a curriculum or giving institutions access to software.
It requires local context.
SKEIYA will lead local market development and institutional relationships in Kenya while supporting organisations implementing Squid Academy programmes.
Squid Academy provides the educational infrastructure behind that work, including structured curricula, learning resources, assessments, educator materials, student e-courses and tournament technology.
This creates a locally led model rather than attempting to impose a one-size-fits-all international programme.
For Kenyan institutions, that means implementation can be adapted around local students, educators, facilities and educational priorities while retaining access to an international esports education framework.
“International expansion only works when it is genuinely local. SKEIYA brings the relationships, context and understanding of the Kenyan market, while Squid Academy brings the curriculum, technology and delivery systems. The opportunity is to combine those strengths and build programmes Kenyan institutions can actually operate and grow.”
— Jeffrey Cray, Co-Founder & Head of Product, Squid Academy
Esports Education Goes Beyond Playing Games
One of the central ideas behind the partnership is that esports education should not be limited to competitive players.
The esports industry includes a much broader ecosystem.
Students can explore roles including:
Team management
Coaching and analysis
Shoutcasting
Broadcasting and production
Tournament operations
Journalism
Social media
Marketing
Branding
Event management
Esports business and strategy
This allows schools and universities to involve students with very different interests and abilities.
A student does not need to be the best player in the room to find a meaningful place in esports.
For schools in particular, competition can become the environment in which students practise communication, teamwork, leadership, organisation, creative production and problem-solving.
What Squid Academy Programmes Can Be Delivered in Kenya?
The partnership creates a route for Kenyan institutions to access different parts of the Squid Academy ecosystem depending on the age of their students and the outcomes they want to achieve.
Modern Sport Pathways & Competition
Modern Sport Pathways & Competition is Squid Academy’s school-focused esports education framework.
Students combine gaming with structured learning and explore professional roles around the competition itself.
A class can operate more like an esports organisation than a traditional gaming club: some students compete while others take responsibility for management, broadcasting, commentary, analysis, media and event operations.
The objective is to use esports as the environment for broader skill development.
Play the Game
Play the Game is designed for environments where competitive performance and game-specific development are a greater priority.
Students work through structured training supported by coaching resources, healthy gaming routines and organised practice.
The model can be used by schools, esports academies and training environments looking to develop players in a more structured way.
Business of Esports
At university level, the Business of Esports programme introduces students to the commercial and operational ecosystem behind competitive gaming.
Students explore areas such as:
Esports marketing
Branding
Tournament operations
Broadcasting
Infrastructure
Partnerships
Business strategy
Governance
The programme is project-based, allowing students to apply what they learn through practical industry-style work rather than studying esports only in theory.
Mind Your Game
Competitive gaming also involves mental, emotional and physical performance.
Mind Your Game explores areas including:
Focus
Tilt and emotional regulation
Team communication
Sleep
Movement
Recovery
Healthy routines
Sustainable gaming habits
The programme connects better gaming performance with habits that can also benefit students outside the game.
Esports Educator Development
The partnership can also support educator training.
Teachers and facilitators can learn how to deliver esports education effectively, manage learning environments around competitive gaming and understand the wider ecosystem surrounding the games their students already play.
Developing educators locally is an important part of creating an esports education ecosystem that can scale beyond individual projects.
How Will the Squid Academy and SKEIYA Partnership Work?
SKEIYA has already begun operational onboarding into Squid Academy's partner infrastructure.
The platform enables the Kenya partner to establish separate organisations for individual schools, universities, colleges, training centres and esports academies.
Each institution can then have its own:
Administrators
Teachers
Classrooms
Students
Assigned programmes
Learning resources
Assessments
SKEIYA can also develop an approved reseller network within Kenya, creating additional routes for institutions in different regions to access Squid Academy programmes.
Squid Academy will continue to provide product, curriculum and implementation support as the partnership moves into local activation.
Learning and Competition in One Ecosystem
Competition is an important part of the Squid Academy model.
The Squid Academy tournament platform allows structured competitions to operate alongside educational programmes.
That matters because tournaments create practical roles for far more students than the players alone.
During a school esports tournament, students might work as:
Players
Team managers
Casters
Analysts
Broadcasters
Tournament administrators
Journalists
Social media teams
Competition can therefore become a practical learning environment.
Students are not only told how the esports industry works.
They experience parts of it.
Creating Pathways From Students to Industry
The longer-term opportunity is to create a connected pathway around esports education in Kenya:
Students → Educators → Institutions → Competition → Careers
Students first encounter esports in a structured educational setting.
Educators gain the resources and knowledge required to support them.
Schools, universities and training organisations provide environments where students can develop.
Competition gives students somewhere to apply their skills.
And exposure to the wider esports ecosystem allows learners to understand the career and business opportunities surrounding competitive gaming.
The aim is not to promise that every student will become an esports professional.
It is to give young people a more accurate understanding of the industry and meaningful opportunities to develop skills within it.
Why Kenya?
Kenya represents an important opportunity to build esports education through a locally led model.
For Squid Academy, the opportunity is not simply to export an existing programme.
The more interesting opportunity is to work with a local partner capable of adapting an international esports education framework to the realities of the Kenyan market.
That is the role SKEIYA will play.
By combining global curriculum and technology with local leadership, the two organisations aim to create a model that can grow across multiple types of educational institution rather than relying on isolated esports events or gaming clubs.
What's Next?
The next stage of the partnership will focus on institutional outreach, demonstrations, programme implementation and local delivery.
SKEIYA will work with prospective schools, universities, training centres and other organisations in Kenya while Squid Academy supports programme setup, platform onboarding and initial delivery where required.
The objective is simple:
Move esports in education from interest to structure.
From playing to learning.
And from isolated gaming activities to an ecosystem where students can compete, create, manage, produce and build skills around an industry they already care about.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Squid Academy's partnership with SKEIYA Management?
SKEIYA Management is Squid Academy's exclusive territorial partner in Kenya. SKEIYA leads local market development and institutional relationships while Squid Academy provides the curriculum, technology, learning resources and tournament infrastructure behind the programmes.
Is Squid Academy available in Kenya?
Yes. Through SKEIYA Management, Kenyan schools, universities, colleges, training centres and esports academies can access and implement Squid Academy programmes locally.
What is esports education?
Esports education uses competitive gaming and the industry surrounding it as a learning environment. Students can develop skills through gameplay as well as areas such as team management, broadcasting, commentary, marketing, event operations and esports business.
Can Kenyan schools introduce esports programmes?
Yes. Schools in Kenya can work with SKEIYA to explore structured esports programmes using Squid Academy curriculum, educator resources, student learning materials and competition infrastructure.
Does esports education only focus on players?
No. Squid Academy programmes include learning pathways for both players and non-player roles such as team managers, coaches, analysts, casters, broadcasters, journalists, marketers and tournament organisers.
Are there university esports programmes available in Kenya?
The Squid Academy ecosystem includes a Business of Esports programme designed for university-level delivery. It covers areas such as esports business, marketing, tournament operations, production, infrastructure, partnerships and governance through project-based learning.
Who is Syombua A. Kibue?
Syombua A. Kibue is the founder of SKEIYA Management and is leading Squid Academy’s expansion and local implementation in Kenya. Through SKEIYA, she is responsible for institutional relationships, market development, programme implementation and development of the local partner network.
Under Syombua’s local leadership, SKEIYA and Squid Academy will now move from partnership setup into activation, working with Kenyan institutions to turn interest in esports into structured learning, competition and pathways for young people.
About SKEIYA Management
SKEIYA Management is Squid Academy's exclusive territorial partner in Kenya, supporting local market development, institutional engagement, programme implementation and the development of an approved local partner network.
About Squid Academy
Squid Academy is an esports education company providing structured programmes and technology for schools, universities, educators and training organisations.
Its ecosystem combines curriculum, educator resources, student learning, assessments, career exploration and tournament infrastructure to help institutions turn interest in gaming and esports into structured educational experiences.