Sara Berkai founded Ambessa Play crafting educational DIY tools that bring the textbook to life. A first-generation student, Sara graduated from a MSc in Child Development at the University of Oxford and a first-class BSc degree at UCL.
She spends most of her time thinking about how everything was made by someone and how to encourage children to build (thinking about play, discovery, imagination and self-efficacy at scale).
Sara has been recognised as: Forbes 30 Under 30, UN's ITU Young ICT Leader, Innovate UK’s 2023 Women in Innovation and 2021 Young Innovator, Anitab.Org Foundation’s Pass It On award and the University of Oxford’s Vice Chancellor’s Social Impact award.
She also sits on the advisory board of UCL School of Management.
Ambessa Play
250 million children remain out of school and 40 million children have been forcibly displaced. Ambessa Play is a social enterprise rethinking aid and education at scale, encouraging children globally to build.
For every kit purchased, a kit is donated to a displaced out-of-school child. Ambessa launched a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2023 and has received grants from Kwanda, Courier Media, Girldreamers, Havas Limited and The Conduit.
