By Evalyne Ndirangu
Two best friends build Nairobi's first sanctuary for neurodivergent kids
Frustrated by the lack of inclusive play spaces in Nairobi, two best friends create a sanctuary where neurodivergent and neurotypical children play and grow together. This is the story of their journey from friends to founders, catalysed by strategic advisory from M-Kyala Ventures’ Office Hours.
In just thirty minutes, Emma* has picked up her phone over thirteen times, only to put it down seconds later. When she’s not checking it, she’s pacing, and it’s obvious she’s restless and not quite sure what to do with herself.
In the playroom next door, her autistic seven year old son, Michael*, is having the time of his life on one of the swings. He seems to have forgotten his mother exists. It’s a strange feeling for Emma. She is used to hovering as he plays, watching to ensure he doesn’t get hurt, intercepting the stares of other children and parents, looking for the flicker of irritation in a stranger’s eyes…
Here, nobody looks twice and she doesn’t have to intervene. So she just sits, watches him through the glass, checks her phone, and thrown by how much unclaimed time she suddenly has on her hands, decides she’ll bring a book and some headphones next time.
Michael and Emma are at Neuronest, a first-of-its-kind indoor play space in Nairobi built for neurodivergent children. While Emma’s experience is unique to her, it is a scene Neuronest’s co-founders, Grace Waiharo and Gloria Kimeli, often see. Moments like this, for them, are the clearest evidence of what Neuronest was built to do: give neurodivergent children the room to play and simply be, offer parents room to breathe, and enable neurotypical children learn to engage with their peers.
The impetus for change
Although Neuronest is about a year old, Grace and Gloria’s friendship spans over two decades, dating back to when they were classmates in high school. The vision behind Neuronest isn’t recent either. It’s been in the works for seven years, sparked by the birth of Gloria’s autistic son. Parenting him since has been an intense education for Gloria – with years spent reading research, consulting specialists and solely trying to figure out how to help her son navigate the world.
“The main challenge is in the normal playground,” Gloria explains. “He’s not able to play or integrate well. There’s a lot of noise, there’s a lot of distractions, people are looking at him…”
Play is not optional for a child’s development, neurotypical or not, and Gloria’s son was being priced out of something many other seven-year-olds around him took for granted. Frustrated by how few spaces existed for children like him, Gloria and Grace decided to build one, and so the quest to create Neuronest began.
Best friends, business partners
Transitioning from corporate professionals to founders cost the duo the comfort of established systems and abundant resources. Suddenly, they were on their own, navigating everything from hiring and fundraising to complex government permitting – all areas far outside their expertise.
The shift also demanded plenty of self generated motivation. “No one is pushing you,” Grace laughs, “no one is asking you to do anything. You have to tell yourself it’s time to wake up, and it’s time to do this.”
The hardest part, however, was that the pivot strained their long-standing friendship. Going from best friends to business partners sounds dreamy until the practical realities of shared liability begin to stress-test the relationship’s foundation.
It’s here that their trajectory changes when, by chance, Grace meets Carolyne Kirabo – the CEO of M-Kyala Ventures. Discovering that Carolyne worked with women entrepreneurs, she sought out Carolyne’s expertise, and what was meant to be a single hour with Carolyne turned into several, and became the start of a running advisory through M-Kyala’s Office Hours.
In these sessions, Carolyne gave them what Gloria calls ‘cheat sheets’, including practical advice on starting small and being deliberate about growth. She also urged them to survey the parents of neurodivergent children across Nairobi to identify gaps in existing playgrounds – an insight that directly shaped Neuronest’s design. And delivered with what Grace remembers as distinct emphasis, Carolyne stressed the necessity of boundaries.
She insisted they protect their friendship from the all-consuming nature of a business, advising them to make space for a life outside the company. “We now have a standing rule to keep business talk out of our time together as friends,” Grace happily shares.
High-value support for ambitious entrepreneurs
“Entrepreneurship is hard and it can be a very lonely journey, especially for women founders, but it doesn’t have to be.” Carolyne points out.
Much of the entrepreneurship support in East Africa, from the accelerators to the bootcamps, are long on curriculum and short on listening or tailored support. M-Kyala’s Office Hours, which Carolyne runs, are meant to counter this, and Neuronest is one of Carolyne’s case studies.
“Through our Office Hours, the goal is to provide high value and practical one-on-one support to entrepreneurs that is tailored to their businesses to help them move forward. We also endeavour to provide timely support precisely when entrepreneurs need it, and hold them accountable for their decisions.” Carolyne adds.
When Carolyne would later visit the finished space, having only known it as a plan months before, the transformation was striking. She saw the results of two industrious entrepreneurs who took their impact and growth seriously, and who had heeded her guidance.
“The support hits differently when it’s coming from someone who’s walked the journey before, and when they’re walking alongside us,” Gloria notes.
A holistic sanctuary for Nairobi’s families
Tucked in Westlands, Nairobi, Neuronest is now a thriving indoor play space for children aged two to fourteen that welcomes both neurotypical and neurodivergent kids. Although designed with neurodivergent children at heart, it was critical for the co-founders that they create an inclusive environment for all kids, as many families include both.
“We don’t want to create a bubble. We want a shared space and to build awareness so that other children understand that people are different, and that’s okay.” Gloria says. “They don’t have to be this type or that type. They can be different, and still be friends, learn from each other, and play together.”
“Children can be unkind,” Grace adds, “but usually because they don’t know rather than out of cruelty. Teach a five-year-old that difference before the world teaches them otherwise, and you’ve done something a lot of adult sensitivity training never quite manages.” By dismantling the “bubble” of segregation early on, Neuronest is nurturing a generation that doesn”t simply tolerate difference, but that celebrates it as a fundamental part of the human experience.
Neuronest is far more than just a playground though. Beyond the sensory-rich play features like crash pits and climbing walls, it houses a quiet space, a Preschool Readiness Programme for children in need of support before joining mainstream school, and on-site therapy suites with occupational and speech therapists. This spares families multiple trips across the city by centralising play and developmental support into one seamless experience. And somewhere in Neuronest’s future sits an NGO arm to subsidise the high cost of therapy, ensuring that financial barriers don’t prevent children from accessing the support they need.
“Just seeing the joy of the parents and the kids gives me so much purpose and meaning,” Grace says. “It’s really good to see other kids interact with neurodivergent kids and try to understand them,” Gloria adds, “they’re even happy even when their fellow kids make milestones!”
Back in the play space, the swings continue swinging, and nearby, Emma is lost in a book, relearning what it feels like to sit still and neither hover nor manage.
*Note: names have been changed for privacy.