Players and a packed crowd at a Moran Pool Club tournament in Loitokitok

Illasit, Loitokitok · Kajiado South

Give village youth somewhere to go

Young people in rural Kenya have no courts, no pools and no youth centres. Mostly they have a pool table in a dim iron-sheet shed. We turn that table into a tournament, a network and, next, a proper youth space.

Partner with us See the tournaments

Tournaments run: 4
Player entries: 64
Prize money on the table: KES 71,500
Towns: Illasit & Loitokitok: 2

The problem

Pool is not the problem. Having nowhere else to go is.

In Kenya, pool has a bad name. It is tied to idlers, to miraa and muguka chewers, to “people with no future”. Police have used force on young people whose only offence was a game of pool.

That weight falls hardest on rural youth. Young people in town can choose from gyms, courts, clubs and cinemas. In the village there are no basketball, tennis or squash courts. The few swimming pools cost more than anyone can pay. There is nowhere indoors to play table tennis, draughts or scrabble.

So they get football and a pool table in a dingy mabati joint, where drugs and alcohol are always within reach.

A village pool joint at night: iron-sheet roof, dirt floor, crowd of young men — A typical village venue: iron-sheet roof and a dirt floor. It is still the busiest place in town on a Saturday night.

The question nobody answers

“What do you want these young people to do? Where do you want them to go?”

People tell village youth to stay away from drugs and alcohol, then write off the one pastime they have. Pool has made multi-millionaires in Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia. Kenya is catching on too: SportPesa has sponsored a countrywide pool tournament. We think the game can be a way out, not a dead end.

What we do

A tournament is not just another game night.

We run organised, well-run pool tournaments in Illasit and Loitokitok. We pay out real prize money, keep a public bracket and bring together people from every walk of life. For a young person who is used to dim back rooms, a tournament opens a door.

Prize money

Real cash for real skill, paid on the night. For many players it is the most they have earned in a week.

A network

Players meet business owners, leaders and older people in the community who once felt out of reach. Some have closed deals on the night.

Community

A new friend, a new crowd, a place to belong. People come to watch and stay to cheer.

A new question

Some find a real talent. Others start to question where they are in life and where they want to go.

A player lines up a shot as a mixed crowd of young men and women watches at the King's Pool Tournament

“And slowly, the harmony begins.”

Look at who is around the table on a tournament night. Young men and women, older and influential people from town, people from every walk of life, all watching the same rack. For one evening nobody is an idler. Everyone is a player, a fan or a sponsor.

The young man who always sat in the dark corner now has a new friend and a community. He may walk away with a business lead or a talent he never knew he had. He may also start to ask where his life is going, and whether he can get there.

None of it happens in one night. It builds one tournament at a time, which is why we keep coming back.

On the record

Tournaments so far

All tournaments

Bracket

19 Sept 2026 · Loitokitok

King's Pool Tournament

Mashuaz Bar Lounge & Grill

Champion

Tungu

KES 19,000

Bracket

29 Aug 2026 · Illasit

Melamela Pool Tournament

Melamela Bar & Restaurant

Champion

Regan

KES 17,500

1 Aug 2026 · Loitokitok

Mashuaz Pool Tournament

Mashuaz Grill & Lounge

Champion

Regan

KES 17,500

21 Jun 2026 · Illasit

Melamela Pool Tournament

Melamela Bar & Restaurant

Champion

—

KES 17,500

Every match, on the big screen

A bracket the whole room can follow

Every tournament gets a live bracket that we cast to the TV at the venue, so the crowd can follow every rack. Seeds, scores and the road to the final, just like the pros.

See the King's Pool bracket Try the TV view

The tournament bracket on a TV above the tables at Mashuaz, Loitokitok

A bright, well-run pool room with the bracket on the TV at Mashuaz, Loitokitok — What a good room looks like: bright lights, clean tables and the bracket on the wall. We want one that is open to young people every day.

What comes next

A youth space of our own

Tournaments are how we start. One of the biggest goals of Digital Moran CBO is to build youth spaces in the village: clean, safe, well-lit places where young people can play, stay away from drugs and alcohol, and think about their futures calmly and positively.

Pool tables and cues, without the bar
Table tennis, draughts and scrabble
A room to study, meet and plan
A link to Digital Moran's free digital skills training

Help build it

Part of the Digital Moran ecosystem

Moran Pool Club is an initiative of Digital Moran CBO, a grassroots organisation in Kimana that has trained over 5,000 rural youth in digital skills, and a sister to Moran Farms. We share one belief: rural youth need tools, not handouts.

Why pool? →

Join the club

Play, watch or just follow along

Our WhatsApp group is where we announce tournaments, share brackets and results, and call for players. Everyone is welcome.

Join our WhatsApp group

Partner with us

Sponsor a tournament. Equip a youth space. Back a player.

A 16-player tournament runs on a prize pool of about KES 17,500 to 19,000. Your support keeps them going while we build a permanent space.

Ways to partner Talk to us on WhatsApp