We are thrilled to announce that LakeHub has secured a KES. 10M grant to implement the Kenya Industry and Entrepreneurship Project-Strengthening Kenya's Innovation Ecosystem (KIEP-SKIES) rapid technical skills training initiative in Kenya. LakeHub will implement this prestigious project through Zone01 Kisumu.

The rapid technical skills training initiative by SKIES intends to retool two hundred and sixty seven (267) techies selected across the country to equip them with critical ICT skills for the fast evolving job market through four bootcamp intermediaries tasked to implement the KIEP-SKIES rapid technical skills training initiative in Kenya. In this regard, the grant reward will  subsidize the cost of tuition for Zone01 Kisumu apprentices as well as scale up the programme.

The unveiling of the KIEP-SKIES Intermediaries took place on Friday, 24th May 2024 at the E4Impact Entrepreneurship Centre in Nairobi where Zone01 Kisumu was represented by the Managing Director Dorcas Owino and Finance Director, Augustine Ayany.

“This grant will boost our efforts to attract more women to the tech industry as well as maintain our promise of providing sustenance stipends to our trainees,” said Dorcas Owino. Cecilia Mwangi, the Innovation Ecosystem Manager at the State Department for Industry KIEP said, “We wish all the intermediaries the best of luck. We are confident that their participation will contribute significantly to the success of the SKIES initiative.”

Zone 01 Kisumu provides opportunities for young people to build the skills necessary to start careers in tech. Our 2-year, fully-funded software development training set in Kisumu City prepares youths for future jobs in mobile and web app development, data engineering, artificial intelligence, video game development, blockchain, cyber security and dev ops. Once training is complete, we offer 3-year guaranteed job contracts to the youths in the aforementioned areas. Currently, we are training 100 youths to become full stack developers. Every year, we intend to gradually increase our capacity to train and provide employment to youths in Kenya.

We are proud to have been selected as part of this noble initiative. We’d like to thank the Ministry of Investments, Trade and Industry, the World Bank and KIEP for considering Zone01 Kisumu as an implementing beneficiary. Our dedication towards skilling and employing youths in Kenya remains unshaken. We look forward to making even greater contributions in strengthening Kenya's innovation ecosystem.

Zone01 Kisumu is a partnership between LakeHub, 01 Talent Africa, United Cities and Local Governments of Africa and the County Government of Kisumu. Our ambitious talent identification campaign continues and applications to join Zone01 Kisumu for future cohorts remain open.