Grace Ashiru
As part of its Coding for Employment program, the African Development Bank opened a second Information and Communications Technology Center of Excellence at the United States International University-Africa in Nairobi.
Its goal is to help African youth become more competitive in the local and global job market by giving them practical 21st-century skills and teaching them how to be employable and start their businesses.
It is made possible by a collaboration between the Bank and Rockefeller. The Bank and the Rockefeller Foundation worked with technical partners Junior Achievement Kenya and Microsoft to set up this second center in Kenya.
Youth between the ages of 15 and 35 who have signed up for the Coding for Employment program but don’t qualify for or can’t afford to attend a traditional college program can use these centers.
Coding for Employment and its partners want to reach more than 1,800 young people in Kenya through the two centers.
Professor Margree Ensign, the Vice Chancellor of the University, said, “The United States International University-Africa is excited to work with the African Development Bank on this project because it fits perfectly with the University’s strategic plan, which aims to prepare our young people for complex global challenges and make them the changemakers in Africa.”
Participants in the Coding for Employment program get access to courses on digital skills, entrepreneurship, and soft skills that are based on what employers want. This helps them get jobs in the information and communications technology (ICT) or tech-enabled sectors.
The university center has 40 computers, printers, desks, ergonomic office chairs, projectors, and a fully-equipped conference room.
In March 2022, the University of Nairobi opened the first Kenyan center of excellence. Coding for Employment programs, both online and in person, have helped 152,000 young people all over Africa.
