African Development Bank’s Coding for Employment Program Launches Second Center of Excellence in Kenya to Equip Youth With Digital Skills

The African Development Bank has opened a second Information and Communications Technology Centre of Excellence at the United States International University-Africa in Nairobi.

This represents a significant accomplishment for the Bank’s Coding for Employment initiative and its expanding collaborations with institutions of higher learning as well as technical and vocational education and training.

“The Bank is committed to assisting the next generation of African leaders, businesspeople, and innovators, as evidenced by our Center of Excellence. In the words of the Bank’s Director General for Eastern Africa, Nnenna Nwabufo, Hendrina Doroba, the division manager for education and skills development, “By working together to give young people the tools and resources they need to succeed, we are all helping to create a more prosperous and inclusive future for all.

Technology will influence the future, and it is our duty to educate our children for the difficulties that lie ahead, she continued.

The Coding for Employment initiative of the African Development Bank helps African youth build their capacity by providing them with useful 21st century skills as well as employability and entrepreneurship skills to boost their competitiveness in local and international labor markets. A collaboration between the Bank and the Rockefeller Foundation provides funding for the initiative.

In order to open this second center in Kenya, the Bank and Rockefeller Foundation collaborated with technical partners Junior Achievement Kenya and Microsoft.

These facilities are accessible to young people aged 15 to 35 who have signed up for the Coding for Employment program but do not meet the requirements for or have the funds to participate in conventional university programs. Through the two facilities, Coding for Employment and its collaborators want to reach more than 1,800 young people in Kenya.

According to Professor Margee Ensign, vice chancellor of the university, “The United States International University-Africa is excited to partner with the African Development Bank in this initiative because it perfectly aligns with the University’s strategic plan that aims to educate our young people for complex global challenges and be the changemakers in Africa.”

In order to increase their employability in the information and communications technology or tech-enabled sectors, Coding for Employment program participants have access to curriculum in digital skills, entrepreneurship, and soft skills that is driven by market demand. 40 computers, printers, workstations, ergonomic office chairs, a conference room, and projectors are all available at the university center.

“The high unemployment rate on the continent is a result of the unequal hurdles to technology access and a lack of essential skills in the technology sector. Our goal is to train them to be distinctive and disruptive, and as a result, digital skills are a crucial component in helping young people become more employable in the modern market, according to John Wali, Executive Director of Junior Achievement Kenya.

Mukhtar Abdi Ogle, Secretary for Strategic Initiatives in the Office of the President of the Republic of Kenya, spoke as the keynote speaker for the event and urged young people to adopt a growth mindset and work with the government to equip them with globally competitive digital skills that will lead to respectable and worthwhile employment.

In March 2022, Coding for Employment inaugurated the University of Nairobi’s first Kenyan Center of Excellence. 152,000 young people have been reached via online and offline Coding for Employment programs across the continent.