The Safaricom Engineering Community is equipping 1 400 young Kenyans with in-demand digital skill sets across 10 universities, helping students better position themselves for the job market.

Born out of the inaugural Safaricom Tech Summit in July 2022, the Safaricom Engineering Community has launched four interconnected programmes to grow the next generation of engineers: Build by Safaricom, Accelerate by Safaricom, Safaricom Mizizi, and a partnership to modernise tech curricula at Kenyan universities.

At the Build by Safaricom workshop, held at Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST), Vice Chancellor Professor Solomon Shibairo highlighted a pressing concern: Kenyan employers find a mismatch between the skills of recent graduates and market needs.

“Therefore we have been calling on the industry and partners to come and give us a real industry experience,” he said.

The Safaricom Engineering Community answered the call, as Naisenya Mungai, Digital Delivery Lead at Safaricom and a founding member, explains: “What we are currently trying to do is to upskill 1 400 youths in Kenya with 10 in-demand digital skill sets. We’ll do this by building 10 centres of excellence across 10 universities in the country.”

First in line is Build by Safaricom, a one-day show-and-tell event that introduces students to courses and essential life skills, such as how to interview for a job.

Interested students can then join the one-year Accelerate by Safaricom programme, which offers training and internship opportunities for selected participants. Mentored students are placed in a talent pool for Kenyan companies to tap into.

The community also started Safaricom Mizizi for high school students and partnered with Kenyan universities to revamp their tech curricula, ensuring they produce market-ready graduates.

This year’s sessions provided more than 100 students with insights into a variety of tech topics such as hacking, AI and cybersecurity, including discussions about the future of work and preparing for a future with AI.

Yvonne Majala, an IT student at MMUST who dreams of becoming an AI engineer, enjoyed the panel discussion about AI. “I learned a lot, especially about ethics in AI,” she says.

“I want to tell Safaricom: Thank you for considering us. It’s a big company, and the fact that a big company is considering us students really shows a lot. We really appreciate this opportunity.”

Professor Shibairo is heartened by the Safaricom Engineering Community’s initiatives.

“When you listen to talks about the advances in technology – in AI, for example – you get scared,” he says. “But I was comforted today to see that we have a partner with whom we can improve our skills and move with the rest of the world, so we are not left behind.”