Over 10,000 students from universities and colleges across Africa are set to benefit from free software development training courses offered by the Power Learn Project.
The Pan African Impact organization aims to build capacity in technology by providing software development scholarships.
The initiative targets to equip young people with skills required in the local and international markets to compete for opportunities globally.
The training has been designed to benefit youths at the grassroots who hitherto could not afford the training.
The program is being executed through partnerships with like-minded organizations to ensure that as many youths as possible benefit.
Mumbi Ndung’u, Chief of Growth and Operations at Power Learn Project, said the organization’s mission is to make digital skills accessible and affordable.
She noted that the world is now technologically driven in every aspect, and young people need to be empowered with these skills to compete globally.
Beneficiaries of the program shall be assisted to upskill and become data scientists, cybersecurity experts, and entrepreneurs.
New graduates will now be able to immensely contribute to the economic development of the particular areas they come from.
The organization targets to train one million software developers across Africa by the year 2027.
The program is open to all young people, regardless of their academic qualifications, as long as they have basic computer skills.
Ndung’u noted that the goal is to make Africa a hub of technology talent. She added that youths in Kenya and across the continent lack equipment and that the cost of the internet and bundles is a significant hindrance to technology development.
Power Learn Project has tried to alleviate these challenges by working with different partners to offer tangible and lasting solutions.
The training entails computer programming, web development, and coding using various languages. The course also includes professional ethics.
Agnetta Atieno, a Kisii University student, said she was very happy to have acquired new knowledge and various skills to use in the field.
“We have also done professional ethics and I am very happy that we are graduating full of newly-acquired knowledge and various skills to use in the field,” she said.
Hillary Ogutu, a medical engineering student, said through the program, he has been able to specialize in computer programming.