Mentorship program forges careers for young Kenyans
Kenya has seen significant economic and social growth over the last decade from infrastructure and technology sector investments, but the impact of that economic opportunity continues to not reach a majority of Kenyans. The number of Kenyans out of work has doubled over the last 10 years, with young people often hardest hit, leaving East Africa’s largest economy with the highest unemployment rate in the region.
But technology sector growth also brings substantial opportunity for those with in-demand skills and support to access employment, and this is exactly what Generation is working to address - now with support from the GitLab Foundation.
Our initial grant of $272,000 is supporting the expansion of Generation’s Digital Freelancing Mentorship program, which supports young people to access careers as freelancers in jobs such as virtual assistants, audio transcription, data entry, and digital marketing.
Through a six-week, intensive training course, a six-week internship with experienced freelancers, and a 4.5 month mentorship period, graduates are prepared for these relatively high paying opportunities. Since the pilot first launched in 2022, this program has supported 600 people, with more than half successfully working as freelancers, with a median annualized income of $1,500 USD from these sources three months after completing the training and internship program (average Kenyan income is $2,081 USD). Prior to starting the course, 85% of the learners were unemployed.*
Our grant will enable Generation to test an expansion of an innovative mentorship program, which they believe is key to ensuring sustainable increases in freelancing income and stability in earnings over time. The mentors are highly experienced freelancers, some of whom are previous graduates of the program who have a history of successfully securing and completing these contract jobs. Through the mentorship structure, they support their mentees in gaining skills and confidence, while directly creating additional earning opportunities. The expectation is that a longer, 12 month mentorship intervention will provide sufficient time for the youth participants to develop their online portfolios, enhance their skills, and ultimately result in increased income.
We’re excited to partner with Generation to leverage the transformation happening with remote work, grow the marketable skills and experience of young job seekers, help them realize their potential, and substantially increase their income in an extremely challenging regional job market.
*Generation Kenya survey (2023)
Return on Investment
The projected cost efficiency of this grant is $25 per person to double their income over their life (cost per DIL)
This project is estimated to cost $67 per person to increase their lifetime earnings 268%
This project is estimated to increase annual earnings by $958 per person, for a total additional lifetime earnings of $25,971 per person
Total lifetime earnings increase across all participants: $130,427,292
