By Alex Maina
In Kenya, youth unemployment has remained one of the biggest struggles of our time. Every year, thousands of bright young graduates step into the world, only to find doors closed and opportunities scarce. Dreams often fade under the weight of a job market that cannot absorb them.
It was in response to this challenge that the Government of Kenya launched the Ajira Digital Program in 2016, through the Ministry of ICT and the Digital Economy (The Star, 2016). Ajira Digital Program was not just another government project. It was a vision. A promise. A belief that if young Kenyans were given the right tools, skills, and access, they could create their own opportunities and shape their own futures.
Ajira’s mission was clear: to equip young people with digital skills and open the doors of online work. It was about more than employment it was about restoring hope, dignity, and independence. According to the Kenya Private Sector Alliance official website, Ajira is also part of Kenya’s dream of becoming a global hub for digital talent.
Since then, the numbers tell a powerful story. More than 321,000 youth have been trained (The Times, 2023), learning everything from online writing and transcription to digital marketing and virtual assistance. Over 400 Ajira Youth Empowerment Centers have been set up nationwide, offering free internet, computers, and safe spaces where dreams can begin. In 2019, about 600,000 Kenyan youth were involved in digital work. By 2023, that number had grown to 2.4 million. That’s not just statistics it’s millions of lives changed.
Among those lives are two young men: Brandon and Hudson, students at The Eldoret National Polytechnic. Brandon was passionate about coding, building websites, and developing software. Hudson loved design, especially creating apps that people would enjoy using. They were ordinary students with big dreams, but like many of their peers, those dreams often felt far away.
Then one day, everything changed. Ajira came to their school.
With excitement and curiosity, they signed up for training. Step by step, they learned how to create online profiles, how to find opportunities on platforms like Upwork and Fiverr, and how to build trust with clients. They practiced, failed, tried again, and slowly grew confident.
Then their first jobs came in. Brandon built websites for real clients. Hudson designed apps and platforms that people loved. The joy of earning their first income was more than money it was proof that their dreams were possible.
Their story didn’t stop there. Brandon and Hudson decided to give back. They became mentors, standing in front of fellow students and saying, “If we can do it, so can you.” They helped others sign up, find work, and believe in themselves.
Today, they are not just freelancers. They are trainers, leaders, and young professionals carving out their futures in the digital space. For them, Ajira turned “maybe someday” into “right now.”
The Ajira digital program has come out as a tool for change; it has come as a tool from the government that has helped many young people learn how to build careers, gain independence, access the digital space, and earn from it, just like Hudson and Brandon
