Microsoft unveils new AppFactory in Kenya

Microsoft 4Afrika Academy Dean Lutz Ziob on a school tour in Nanyuki, Kenya. FILE PHOTO | NATION

Microsoft 4Afrika Academy in conjunction with low-cost Internet service provider Mawingu Networks has launched an internship programme for youth in Nanyuki, some 200km North of Nairobi.

Under the Apprentice Factory (AppFactory) progamme, the youth will work with technicians for six months, to acquire digital skills including software development and coding, needed in business or formal employment.

“By working with an innovative, local company, we are demonstrating our commitment to extending the reach of opportunities to youth and small businesses across the country,” the Dean of Microsoft 4Africa Lutz Ziob said recently at the launch of AppFactory.

The Nanyuki AppFactory is the 16th in Africa and second in Kenya after the United States International University Africa (USIU) programme.

Mawingu Networks director and CEO Tim Hobbs said the Nanyuki AppFactory will generate competent ICT professionals in an increasingly digital world.

“Through our WiFi hotspots, we have connected over 600 small and medium enterprises in and around Nanyuki to the Internet. This has helped them to transform digitally and reach new markets,” said Mr Hobbs.

Other partners involved in the project are Ethiopian Airlines, USIU, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, human capital management software firm Ceridian, and the Tulane International University Centre for Global Equity.

According to Mr Ziob, over 500 developers graduated from the Africa AppFactories last year with 85 per cent securing full-time jobs.

Launched five years ago in Nanyuki town, Mawingu Networks uses wireless technology and solar power to provide Internet services to farms, schools, businesses, factories and non-governmental organisations for as little as Ksh10 ($0.1) for 50MB.

Microsoft unveils new AppFactory in Kenya