What We Do
Alive & Kicking manufactures quality sports balls in Kenya, Zambia and Ghana. Our footballs (soccer balls), volleyballs, netballs, handballs and rugby balls generate employment for over 120 people, provide a product tailored for the African market and are used as a tool for raising health awareness.
Established in 2004 by the late Jim Cogan OBE, an inspirational teacher with a passion for African development, we are the only formal manufacturer of sports balls on the African continent. His vision was to see the large scale production of sports balls in Africa – to use the continent’s passion for football to boost local economies, provide children with the right equipment to play and to use sport to help combat the spread of deadly disease.
This vision drives Alive & Kicking to this day.
We are a social enterprise – an organisation that uses business practices to pursue our charitable objectives:
Creating sustainable employment in the manufacture of sports balls
Ensuring that disadvantaged children have access to balls that are suitable for the conditions
Using sport to raise health awareness in sub-Saharan Africa
The standard Alive & Kicking ball is made of African leather, which makes it twice as resistant to puncture as the most robust synthetic ball on the market. This helps our balls to be competitive in African retail outlets, where the majority are sold. We also supply NGOs, companies (for CSR and marketing) and government departments.
Each of the 120 people that we employ typically supports an extended family of six people on their salary, so their jobs are extremely valuable to their communities. By focusing on sustainable solutions to real problems, Alive & Kicking is driving change in the communities in which we work.