Ajira Digital Program, the premier online jobs platform that will unlock thousands of jobs for the youth was launched by Joe Mucheru, the Cabinet Secretary, Information Communication and Technology. The launch took place in Taifa Hall, Main Campus, today, September 20, 2018.

Speaking during the event, the Chief Guest, observed that millions of Kenyan youth are bound to benefit from the technological innovation that will help the youth to transition from learning to earning. “There are millions of jobs online. They are so many, you can’t exhaust them. I am also engaging government bodies and the private sector to put some of their tasks and jobs online, “he said. The CS revealed that he is in the process of engaging the President of the Supreme Court, Justice David Maraga on how best they can digitize the judicial processes.

CS Mucheru revealed that his dream is to have Kenya as the epicenter of freelancing work and online jobs for the rest of the world.  We shall be leveraging on our demographic dividend. “ Unlike other countries like Japan, where we have the median age of 45 years, In Kenya, our median age is 19 years”, he said. With the support of the President, CS Mucheru plans to roll out the training in all the 290 constituencies in the country to help as many young people as possible and address the challenge of high rate of unemployment.

On the issue of bandwidth, he observed that he is working with Google and Telkom Kenya to roll out 85 gigabytes bandwidth that will power thousands of hotspots across the country.

The Permanent Secretary ICT, Jerome Ochieng’ challenged young people to embrace technological revolution happening in the country. “True wealth is based on innovations”, he said. Some three decades ago, energy companies were among the leading companies globally. That is not the case anymore as the top ten companies are technology companies. He urged the young people to consider learning about technological advancements like big data and artificial intelligence as they are bound to benefit greatly.

The Chancellor, Dr. Vijoo Rattansi said that the online jobs will help the youth to participate in building the economy. She urged the young people to grasp the opportunities as it will make a difference in the future. 

The University of Nairobi Vice Chancellor, Prof. Peter Mbithi, expressed the pain of having highly trained professors teaching highly intelligent students who can’t get jobs upon graduation. He noted that with the introduction of online jobs, graduates have the opportunity to continue learning and earning.

The event was attended by Deputy Vice-Chancellors, College Principals, University staff and students. Over 200 students have undergone training in the last 30 days and have since formed the Ajira Alumni – Ajira Digital Club. Going forward, the club members will be key in training more students on how best to tap into the world of online jobs.