The Power Learn Project (PLP) was born during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic out of a critical realization: Africa faced a profound skills gap in a rapidly shifting digital landscape. What began as an initiative focused on foundational software development has since expanded its curriculum to include Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other high-demand digital pathways.
Under the leadership of Co-Founder and Executive Director Mumbi Ndung’u, PLP has grown across five African countries, training over 20,000 young Africans, with women making up more than 40% of recent cohorts. Ndung’u’s roadmap aims to equip one million tech professionals across the continent by 2027. Driving this educational engine is Isaac Kega, PLP’s Head of Academy, who steers the instructional strategy, aligning the curriculum with modern tech advancements like Python, Flutter, and machine learning.
Building on this momentum, PLP has launched the INUKA Tech Fellowship, an intensive 3-month program created in partnership with the KPC Foundation, E&M Technology House, and JKIAN Hub (JHUB Africa).
The KPC Foundation, the social investment arm of the Kenya Pipeline Company, has been driving sustainable development since 2017 across six key areas: education, health, environmental conservation, water access, sports, and the empowerment of youth and special groups.
Representing the Foundation, KPC Foundation Manager Rachel Gathoni challenged the selected fellows to fully leverage this program to build their futures. The opportunity is substantial: KPC has fully automated its industrial operations, driving an ongoing internal need for top-tier tech talent. Furthermore, KPC has recently commercialized its vast fiber optic network, opening up direct professional avenues for the fellows within the parastatal.
KPC Foundation Trustee Carol Kiplagat emphasized the urgency of this training in a fast-evolving digital economy, noting that to ensure talent alone dictates success, the fellowship is entirely free, provides stipends, and guarantees hands-on placements with technology partners.
Represented by Chief Commercial Officer Julius Njuguna, E&M Technology House serves as the program’s bridge to the corporate world. E&M injects vital real-world business experience into the fellowship, working directly with the learners to teach them how to commercialize their technical skills, launch viable tech startups, and transition smoothly into professional working life.
Led by Founder and Project Lead Dr. Lawrence Nderu, JHUB Africa anchors the fellowship’s specialized connectivity and infrastructure track. This component directly leverages KPC’s extensive 96-core underground fiber network, which spans roughly 1,000 kilometers along the Mombasa–Nairobi–Eldoret–Kisumu corridor, linking to nine major data centers.
As KPC scales up to offer active LIT fiber services, JHUB will train fellows on how to build, secure, and maintain this infrastructure. Crucially, KPC leadership issued an audacious challenge to the cohort: to use their technical training to design local solutions so Kenya can manufacture fiber optic cables domestically rather than relying on imports.
Following a rigorous interview process, 30 exceptional learners have been selected for the inaugural cohort. Over the next three months, these fellows will dive into an immersive curriculum designed to build advanced analytical skills, scale tech startups, and manage critical digital networks.
The skills taught in the program prepare graduates for specific, high-demand industry specializations, including:
- Fibre Optic Technicians (CFOT Certification)
- Transmission Engineers (DWDM Specialization)
- IP & Network Engineers (Routing, Switching & MPLS)
- Datacentre Technicians (Power & Cooling)
- Cybersecurity & Cloud Roles
This training opens doors to a massive local market, where the Communications Authority has licensed thousands of operators, including international gateway operators, submarine cable landing companies, and network facility providers, all actively seeking specialized digital talent.
At the end of the INUKA Tech Fellowship, these students will emerge with the concrete technical skills, deep practical exposure, and influential professional networks required to excel and lead in the modern digital economy.