What we do

Alive & Kicking makes top quality footballs (soccer balls), volleyballs, netballs, handballs, and rugby balls in Kenya and Zambia. We are the only formal manufacturer of sports balls in Africa, and we hope that will change!

We are a charitable social enterprise – an organisation that uses business practices to pursue our charitable objectives. We create fair paid jobs in the manufacture of sports balls that are appropriate for typical African conditions, we ensure that schools that cannot afford to buy the balls are able to access them, and we invest in educating young people about HIV/AIDS.

Most of the balls we make are made of African leather, which makes them twice as resistant to puncture as the most robust synthetic ball on the market. This helps us to be competitive in African retail outlets where we sell a lot of our balls. Other markets for our products are sports NGOs, corporate social responsibility departments, company marketing departments, and you.

Each of the 150 people that we employ typically supports an extended family of six people on their salary, so their jobs are extremely important and are valuable to their communities. Every time you buy or donate a ball you will be helping them to live.

Download the Alive and Kicking Constitution (pdf)