Enrolment for AppFactory currently ongoing as Microsoft 4Afrika launches AppFactory in Kenya
United States International University – Africa (USIU-Africa) has collaborated with Microsoft’s 4Africa initiative to bring in Kenya the first AppFactory situated at the I2C ( Incubation and Innovation Center ) Center in Nairobi.
The I2C AppFactory is the 14th AppFactory to be launched in partnership with Microsoft 4Afrika on the continent, with others in Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Egypt, Uganda, Rwanda, Mauritius, Malawi and Ethiopia. In 2017, 500 students graduated from the African AppFactories, with 85 percent securing full-time jobs within three months of graduation. Others have started their own businesses.
“Graduates from the AppFactory are highly sought-after. Virtually all of them find work – often before they even graduate,” said Lutz Ziob, dean of the Microsoft 4Afrika Academy. “Across Africa, AppFactory students are learning how to build digital solutions in business, finance, healthcare, education, agriculture, tourism and transportation. As they become experienced software engineers – working with modern technologies from cloud computing to secure coding, bots and data analytics – startups and corporates are snatching them up.”
According to our Sources, USIU-Africa will host the AppFactory, while Microsoft will provide assistance and access to various platforms, tools and networks to successfully operate the programme. The I2C AppFactory will target final year ICT students at USIU-Africa and fresh graduates from other universities. Every six months, 30 students will become software apprentices and receive training and mentorship by senior software craftsmen.
“Despite hundreds of students graduating in ICT, IT companies are still finding it difficult to recruit graduates who are ready to contribute as software developers, without first taking them through extensive on-the-job training,” said Professor Paul Zeleza, vice chancellor of USIU-Africa
Enrolment for the AppFactory is currently ongoing here.
