At Kaiboi National Polytechnic, a college 400km from Nairobi, Brian Kipchumba is rapidly clicking away at a desktop computer.
He is pursuing a diploma in ICT online.
But today he is not working to beat a deadline for a class assignment, but rather keen to deliver on a digital task for a client domiciled abroad.
Kipchumba is part of the thousands of Kenyan youths who have benefited from Jitume programme which seeks to impart digital skills before connecting trainees with online jobs.
When President William Ruto visited the college in Nandi county in January this year, he was elated to realise that students like Kipchumba make a decent living working online.
“I earn $172 per week, which translates into Sh26,000,” Kipchumba told the President.
“I work for various companies outside the country, yet I have no passport. In fact I have never been to Nairobi let alone travelled outside Kenya,” he said noting that since he started working online, his life has changed.
“I can now meet my financial needs. I can pay for my rent, food and other stuff I need,” he said.
Kipchumba added that he is even able to support his siblings.
Jitume programme
Kenya is betting on the programme to deliver jobs to the about 1 million young people joining the job market every year.
“Finya computer pata dollar,” Ruto has repeatedly said.
These remarks translate into “click a button and earn dollars”.
At most of his functions in various parts of the country, he encourages the youth to utilise the ICT labs to earn a living.
Ruto launched the Jitume programme on December 6, 2022, just four months after assuming office.
His aim is to equip young people with digital skills to enable them get online jobs and tap into the rapidly growing digital economy, popularly known as gig economy.
The plan is part of Kenya Kwanza’s Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda, a blueprint that seeks to deliver accelerated and inclusive economic growth capable of creating jobs and lifting the livelihood of millions at the bottom of the pyramid.
BETA has five pillars—digital superhighway, agriculture, health, housing, and micro, small and medium enterprises.
Jitume, a Kiswahili word for ‘go an extra mile’, is a flagship programme under the digital superhighway pillar which seeks to build the necessary infrastructure for enhanced digital economy.
Ruto’s administration intends to lay down 100,000km of fibre cable in five years to attain last mile connectivity and bring all parts of the country into the digital realm.
So far, more than 10,000km of broadband has been installed.
This infrastructure will form the backbone of the online economy.
Aside from linking the youths with digital jobs, the internet project will foster e-commerce and adoption technology as well as ease provision of government services.
It is also aimed at upskilling more than one million youth who enter the job market annually with ICT skills as envisaged under the Kenya National Digital Master Plan (2022-2032).
As part of the broad strategy to achieve these goals, the government has set out to establish Jitume labs in all TVET colleges as well as digital hubs in all the 1,450 wards in the country.
Across the country, the Jitume programme is making remarkable progress with about 130,000 youths already trained, with a good number of them now working online for companies spread across the globe.
Since Jitume was launched, 115 Technical Institutes and Vocational Training colleges have been equipped with more than 12,000 computers with each college receiving 100 devices.
Additionally, 120 tutors from TVETs across the country have been trained not only on how to impart digital skills to students, but also how to build their online profiles to enable them get clients from across the globe.
“We have negotiated with countries such as France, US, Germany, Canada, UAE and Saudi Arabia so that our youths can access online jobs,” Ruto said recently in Ol Kalou, Nyandarua county.
“You will be able to work for companies abroad from here in Ol Kalou. Your work is just to press a button and earn an income.”
Aside from providing digital training, Jitume labs also act as hubs for online workers who are either students or members of the surrounding communities.
Joshua Kiilu, an ICT trainer at Wote Technical Training Institute in Makueni, says the programme has provided young people with a golden opportunity to earn a living and better their lives.
“Platforms such as Upwork and Freelancer pay well,” he says, noting that students have to bid for the online jobs.
To bid successfully, Kiilu said students require requisite skills such as networking, graphic design, content writing, and web development.
“I chose to learn graphic design, an area I am passionate about. There are so many apps that I use to do this and deliver good work for my clients,” says Mercy Kitemi, a student at Maasai Mara Technical Institute.
The youths who work for various companies across the globe are paid through Paypal and Binance, with the cash conveniently coming through MPesa accounts on their mobile phones.
