Barely a year after opening its doors to a giant tech-hub, the youths in Kisumu County are making another history, not in the political front, but in the tech space. 

A year ago, Zone 01 Kisumu, a tech-based company, enrolled over 100 youths in their 18 months free training program out of which each participant received a monthly stipend, with assurance of job placement. 

The training process had its beneficiaries go through a rigorous initial process called the piscine and thereafter, assigned them roles that later graded them accordingly and qualified them as software developers based on the number of completed tasks. 

As the first cohort consisting of over 100 qualified youth in coding continue to acquire their job placement into the tech industry both locally and internationally, more women are encouraged to fill up spaces as the giant tech-hub announces their second intake. 

“Yes, it is true that once an applicant has the training, they have a guaranteed job placement,” Thaddeus Ogondola, a beneficiary of the first cohort at Zone 01 Kisumu said, ” as for me, am through with the 18 months training which was made easy by the Ksh 15000 monthly stipend and currently doing my internship program with an international tech-based company,” he added.

While speaking to TV47 Digital, Lorna Akoth, a software developer with Zone 01 Kisumu, disclosed the importance of having women onboard, explaining their intuitive roles and how their participation in coding could impact change. 

“Women have this intuitive persistence which I think would really fit into the coding space,” she said, adding that women are constant problem solvers, always thinking of how this would work and what would happen if that doesn’t work. “These are skills that are transferrable to the coding space,” she added. 

The giant tech company, Zone 01 Kisumu, has once again announced the continuity of their ambitious tech-based free training program and is opening their doors to 100 successful youths.  

According to Deryl Ouko, officer in charge of recruitment, the 100 successful applicants will not only undergo a 18-month tuition free training program with a guaranteed job placement but will also receive a monthly stipend of Ksh 15000 during the 18 months of tuition free training. 

“For 18 months we have trained 100 youths in software development and for those 18 months we have provided them with sustenance stipends which has facilitated their learning,” he said. 

“That is not the end of the story because we are opening our doors once again to youths not only in Kisumu but in Kenya, to join Zone 01 Kisumu, to learn software development tuition free and put them on a path to employment both locally and internationally.” Ouko added. 

Applicants should be 18 years and above, have a valid identification card, able to access a computer with uninterrupted network connection, visit Zone 01 Kisumu website at www.learn.zone01kisumu.ke

As women continue to take up the coding space which was initially a male dominated field, Dorcas Owino, a youthful managing director at Zone 01 Kisumu is encouraging women to apply and be among the 100 successful applicants.

“During the 18 months which has lapsed, we witnessed the number of women rising and I’d love to encourage more women to show up, visit our website, play the game and wait to be invited into an exciting phase of coding world,” Dorcas said.