The Kiota School is one of the prestigious learning institutions in Kenya, known for its academic excellence in national examinations.
The school, which has 3 branches in Karen, Kasuku, and Dennis Pritt, provides an integrated curriculum that combines the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) with elements from Montessori, the British National Curriculum, the International Baccalaureate, and the American System.
Kiota School was founded by Emma Miloyo and her husband, Chris Nicca. The two met at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, where both were pursuing degrees in architecture.
The idea to start Kiota school was born out of their thesis, which they were required to submit in their sixth year.
It happened that the submission deadline was fast approaching, but Emma had not submitted her thesis. To prevent repeating another year as per the policies, she approached Chris for ideas.
Chris, whose thesis focused on the education sector, advised Emma to look for ideas in the same field, and the two ended up submitting theses around educational architecture.
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Emma’s thesis was about educational spaces and how their architecture could support the well-being of children, while Chris’s thesis was about the design of correctional facilities.
During graduation day, the two joked about how they were destined to start a school together since their theses touched on the education sector.
The joke would later become a reality ten years later when the two founded Kiota School. The couple spotted an advert for someone selling a school property and decided to buy it.
The vision for Kiota was to be more than just a school but an institution that would “impact the community,” and ultimately, the nation.
Kiota School is a Christian institution, guided by Biblical principles. Chris credits God and hard work for most of their achievements, while recounting how they skipped sleep for four days when opening the third branch, Kasuku Campus, which is located in Kilimani.
“The Kasuku campus is crazy because there was a time we did not sleep for three, four days after we took over the property, I remember it was on December 11th, and we had to have a school by the next month on January 7th,” Chris recounted. “So, you can imagine how hard we had to work to turn it around and make sure our children can come in.”
Besides co-founding Kiota, Emma, a Kenya High alumnus, holds the distinction of being the first woman to clinch a first-class honors degree in architecture from the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology.
In 2017, she also made history after becoming the first female president of the Architectural Association of Kenya (AAK).
She believes that the most fundamental formula to creating a successful business is solving a problem that’s needed by society.
