Ajira Digital hosted a graduation of young women through its ongoing program dubbed “AjiraForShe” Apprenticeship Program. A total of 16 young women have graduated in this first cohort having undergone industry and work experience training while over 20 more are expected to graduate for the second cohort.

The apprenticeship program is driven by eMobilis who is an implementing partner of Ajira Digital charged with skilling young people with digital skills required in the labour market. The apprenticeship program aims to advance opportunities for young women in Kenya in the digital economy by building their confidence in taking up digital and digitally-enabled work opportunities facilitating their access to quality career pathways and sharpening their entrepreneurship skills. Key collaborators have also played a key role in making the apprenticeship program a reality, especially the women empowerment organizations that include Refushe, Nice Place Foundation, Madrasa Tulfalaha, Triggerise Kenya Limited, and Hope World Wide Kenya.

Attending the ceremony were Ajira Digital partners including Dr. Ehud Gachugu, Director Ajira Digital and Youth Employment at KEPSA, Ken Mwenda, Managing Director eMobilis, Anthony Karanja, Partner Strategy, Planning and Digital Economy-Kenya at Mastercard Foundation, Priscilla Maina, Assistant Director State Department of ICT and Digital Economy among others.
 

Here are key insights from the event:

“We are currently working within a complex environment where there are no sufficient jobs and on the other hand employers are struggling to get young people with the relevant skill set. The first thing we all need to acknowledge is that the skills of yesterday cannot help solve the problems our businesses and economy are facing today. Young people need to put away the perception that there are not enough work opportunities and instead start thinking through the needs of society and businesses so that they can use their skills and talents to provide solutions. Having gone through the Ajira Digital program, you have the tools necessary to maneuver in the labour market. This Apprenticeship Program gives young women an opportunity to learn from other businesses on how to be successful entrepreneurs. We can use this learning to make a difference in our society” - Dr. Ehud Gachugu – Director of Ajira Digital Program and Youth Employment.

“Just Like Faith Kipyegon, a Kenyan athlete who won the Gold medal title at the World Olympics happening in Budapest, the world is a platform for the women to conquer and the young women here today are exposed to limitless digital opportunities to conquer the world. To date, the Ajira digital program has seen over 350,000 young people trained and mentored with digital skills with 53% of these being young women. Out of the total trained, about 150,000 have been directly linked to digital work opportunities both in the Private Sector and the government. In fact, through the Ajira Pilot project with the judiciary, over 1500 young people trained under the program were deployed to courts across the country to deliver digital tasks including transcription, scanning, and data entry aimed towards court digitization which has resulted in increased efficiency of service delivery in Kenyan judicial system while creating digital work opportunities for young Kenyans.” - Ken Mwenda, Managing Director eMobilis Technology Institute and co-founder.

“If we focus on men for such programs, only men will turn up. But if we focus on women, even men will turn up for such opportunities. As Mastercard Foundation we are committed to empowering over 30 million young people in Africa with 7 million of those being Kenyans, 70% of these being young women. The foundation is working to accelerate access to financial capital for young people particularly women to pursue diverse opportunities to live a meaningful and dignified livelihood. Digital economy has innumerable opportunities for young people especially young women as they are able to work from anywhere and make a dignified livelihood. One remarkable shift enabled by Ajira Digital is the creation of entrepreneurs among young people which we refer to as the agency model. Young people accessing work opportunities from international customers are able to employ their peers to deliver services to businesses which is a great milestone.” - Anthony Karanja, Partner Strategy, Planning and Digital Economy-Kenya at Mastercard Foundation.

“With the Vision 2030 plans, the Ajira Digital Program plays a great role in the realization of the Vision as it continues to grow the digital economy, digital and digitally-enabled work for young people in Kenya. The digital economy is a game-changer in youth employment and currently, the Government is establishing 1,450 digital hubs across the country where young women can take advantage of and schedule time to use the facilities to upskill reskill, and offer digital work services. In addition to infrastructure, the digital master plan also highlights the need for digital skills, digital government service, products, and data management, digital innovation, enterprise, and digital business among others.” - Priscilla Maina, Assistant Director State Department of ICT and Digital Economy.

“Currently, I am doing website and digital media management for other businesses. This has really opened up my perception of the numerous work opportunities in the digital space. Encouraging young people to spread the word and save those young girls getting into early marriages due to lack of hope and instead, they can take advantage of the digital opportunities. Have the roles and responsibilities assigned during the training advised on how to take up work opportunities in the digital space?” - Khadija Khamis of Madrassa TulFalah, a young woman graduating from the Apprenticeship Program.

Therefore, the AjiraForShe is a pivotal step towards gender equality in areas that have historically been imbalanced. The initiative helps in honing young women's technical and soft skills, to complement the skills and knowledge acquired in Ajira Digital Program curriculum training and mentorship. Additionally, it offers work experience by providing practical on-the-job experience to first-time jobseekers and helps young women display their abilities to potential employers.