Kenya team wins Microsoft Imagine Cup World Championship

Kenya team wins Microsoft Imagine Cup World Championship

Team TAWI, winners in the education category of the 2023 Imagine Cup world finals qualifying round have gone on to win the World Championship. The team qualified from 48 competing global teams to be selected among the top 3 to compete in the World Championship at Microsoft Build. They win the grand prize of USD 100,000, a mentorship session with Microsoft’s Chairman and CEO, Satya Nadella, and Level 2 access to Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub.

They faced winning teams from the Americas and Asia regions; Eupnea from the United States, and CS-M Tool from Thailand, respectively. Winning the competition showcasing their solution that seeks to help people with auditory processing disorder communicate more easily. It leverages speech recognition tools from Azure Cognitive Services and OpenAI Whisper to enhance speech, reduce background noise, and transcribe speech to text in real-time.  

winners of the 2023 imagine cup world championship from kenya

Team TAWI consists of Muna Said Nomy, John Onsongo Mabeya, Syntiche Musawu, and Zakariya Hussein, The Applied Computer Technology and Data Science and Analytics undergraduate students of the United States International University (USIU) – Africa in Nairobi, Kenya have become the second African team to win the competition. The former also from USIU became the first student team from Africa to win the competition in 2021.

The team will work to take their solution to the next phase and scale it. Watch the full 2023 Microsoft Imagine Cup World Championship event and hear more about their solution.

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5 ways you can make money with technology

5 ways you can make money with technology

Technology is one of the most dynamic and lucrative fields in the world today. If you have a passion for tech and want to turn it into a source of income, there are many ways you can do so. In this blog post, we will explore some of the most popular and profitable ways to make money with technology.

Start a tech blog or podcast

If you enjoy writing or speaking about tech topics, you can create a blog, YouTube channel or a podcast and share your insights, opinions, reviews, tutorials, or news with an online audience. You can monetize your content by displaying ads, selling sponsored posts or episodes, offering subscriptions or memberships, or creating your own products or services.

Develop an app or software

If you have coding skills or are willing to learn, you can develop your own app or software and sell it on various platforms such as Google Play, Apple App Store, Steam, or your own website. You can create an app or a software for entertainment, education, productivity, gaming, social networking, or any other niche that interests you. You can earn money by charging a fee for downloading or using your app or software, offering in-app purchases or upgrades, or displaying ads.

Teach tech skills online

If you have expertise in any tech-related field such as web development, graphic design, data science, cybersecurity, or digital marketing, you can teach others online and earn money. You can create your own online courses and sell them on platforms such as Udemy, Skillshare, Coursera, or your own website. You can also offer live coaching or mentoring sessions via platforms such as Zoom, Skype, or Google Meet.

Sell tech products or services online

If you have a knack for finding or creating tech products or services that solve problems or meet needs, you can sell them online and make money. You can sell physical products such as gadgets, accessories, hardware, or software on platforms such as Amazon, eBay, Shopify, or your own website. You can also sell digital products such as ebooks, audiobooks, videos, music, games, or software on platforms such as Gumroad, Sellfy, Podia, or your own website.

Freelance as a tech professional

If you have skills and experience in any tech-related field such as web development, graphic design, data science, cybersecurity, or digital marketing, you can offer your services online and work as a freelancer. You can find clients and projects on platforms such as Upwork, Fiverr, Freelancer.com, Toptal, or your own website. You can charge by the hour, by the project, or by the value you provide.

These are just some of the many ways you can make money with technology. The key is to find something that matches your skills, interests, and goals, and to provide value to your target market. With dedication, creativity, and hard work, you can turn your passion for tech into a profitable venture.

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Microsoft collaborates with universities to improve their curriculum and facilitate direct hiring

Microsoft collaborates with universities to improve their curriculum and facilitate direct hiring

Microsoft’s engineering arm, the Africa Development Centre is announcing a collaboration with Kenyan technology universities to review their curriculums and make them more relevant to industry needs as the centre ramps up its digital skilling efforts in the country.

As part of the program, Microsoft ADC has partnered with the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) to review its Computer Science degree program. The curriculum review program will also be extended to other universities in Kenya that have expressed interest, and across Africa.

The initiative is part of the ADC’s larger agenda to contribute to the Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa. Which aims to harness digital technologies and innovation to transform African societies and economies by 2030. The initiative also aims to address identified skill gaps in software engineering students during technical interviews, particularly in software engineering fundamentals. It also fits into the Kenyan government’s Digital Superhighway plan, which aims to put the country on the path to becoming the world’s digital workforce.

The ADC is running multiple initiatives to improve the tech talent pipeline starting from primary school all the way to working to improve the skills of practicing professionals. As part of the skilling drive, the ADC is looking to improve tech-based curricula within local institutions of higher learning so as to reduce the skills gap between classrooms and the workplace,” says Irene Githinji, the ADC’s Student & Education Engagement Program Manager.

Microsoft ADC working with Kenyan universities

Microsoft says, while players in the technology sector are constantly on the lookout for new talent, they are frequently unable to hire directly from universities because students are mostly armed with theoretical knowledge at the expense of much-needed application skills in software engineering fundamentals. Also noting, a need has been identified to transition from paper examination to online assessment, as most students have never sat for coding exams via online assessment, as evidenced when they sit for the ADC’s coding interviews.

Students pursuing STEM-related courses will benefit from the new curriculum because they will have access to updated resources, courses, and assessments. Additionally, updated curriculums with industry input will help students gain hands-on tech skills that will be useful throughout their tech careers,” adds Githinji.

Dr. Michael Kimwele, Director, School of Computing and Information Technology at JKUAT notes that the curriculum review partnership is not a first for Microsoft and JKUAT.

Our collaboration with Microsoft has, over the years, helped to develop potential career pathways for students and enabled the institution to access more teaching resources. We have received industry feedback and guidance on our curriculum which has helped us to improve our teaching methods and content. The collaboration has also exposed our students to real-time industry jobs. For example, many students involved in incubator projects are often offered a role within the company after their graduation since they have had time to adjust to the company culture,” says Dr. Kimwele.

The Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa aims to provide a massive online e-skills development program to 100 million Africans per year by 2021, and 300 million per year by 2025, to provide basic knowledge and skills in digital security and privacy. The initiative is led and owned by African institutions and is intended to be embedded in African realities while unleashing the African spirit of enterprise and creativity to generate homegrown digital content and solutions while embracing what is good and relevant.

We are also working closely with the government and the private sector to expand access to digital skills training across Africa, and some of our initiatives are already reaching out to schools to provide students with the skills they need to succeed in the workplace. The initiatives range from coding classes for young children and teaching basic computer skills to underprivileged individuals to highly technical learning opportunities such as the Game Of Learners hackathon, which helps university students fine-tune their skills by building real-world solutions under the supervision of industry professionals,” Githinji explained.

Githinji also emphasized the need to refine the quality of technology education in universities in order to better prepare students for a digitally enabled future.

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Microsoft is hiring software engineers from African universities to USA and Canada

Microsoft is hiring software engineers from African universities to USA and Canada

As part of plans to showcase the talent pool in Africa, Microsoft through its University Recruiting program and Africans at Microsoft is hiring final-year students and recent university graduates from across Africa into full-time engineering roles at Microsoft. The Microsoft African University Recruitment Program for recent graduate engineers will provide successful candidates with relocation to the USA and Canada.

Interested persons who will like to apply should have recently graduated from the university or will be graduating by 2023. Here are the qualifications you will need to meet.

  • Open to relocating to USA or Canada
  • Pursuing or recently completed a bachelor’s or master’s degree in engineering, computer science, or related field.  
  • One year of programming experience in an object-oriented language (C, C#, C++, Java, Python).  
  • Ability to demonstrate an understanding of computer science fundamentals, including data structures and algorithms. 

Activities that will give you an edge include experience building software outside of the classroom environment like an internship, hackathon, or research project. As well as showing the ability to work in a team and effective time management.

USA and Canada Microsoft

Microsoft started the program in 2017 dubbed Africa to Redmond; Hack for Africa. For its first iteration, Microsoft University Recruiting and Africans at Microsoft selected five universities on the continent to recruit from. University of Nairobi (Kenya), University of Lagos (Nigeria), Ashesi University (Ghana), Makerere University (Uganda), and University of Cape Town (South Africa).

The Microsoft Team is organizing free virtual resume workshops to help interested persons prepare for the application process. Where they will provide information on Microsoft’s recruitment program, share tips on how to make your application stand out, and answer your questions. The free resume workshop will take place at different times depending on your country. Here are a few below:

Ghana – from 6 – 7:30 pm GMT on Saturday 20th August 2022. The link to join the session will be provided after you register, link: http://aka.ms/ghtomicrosoft.

Nigeria – from 7 pm WAT on Thursday 18th August 2022 via https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1OdKrBDoOAeKX.

Kenya – from 6 – 7 pm EAT on 24th August 2022 via https://www.meetup.com/ms-ambassadors-ke/events/287900428/

During the workshop, Microsoft recruiters will share more on the recruitment process. But it usually takes place in three phases and will look something like this. It starts with an online coding challenge. A panel will then review the entries and select applicants for the next stage. The selected candidates will have an in-person or virtual interview. Finally, a successful candidate from the three steps will join Microsoft for a full-time position. The candidate will be assigned to an engineering team once they accept the offer.

Don’t forget to kindly share this opportunity with your friends or anyone this might help so they don’t miss out.

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13 startups join the Microsoft Scale-up Accelerator program

13 startups join the Microsoft Scale-up Accelerator program

GreenHouse Capital is announcing that 13 pre-series A startups will be joining the Microsoft Scale-up Accelerator program. They will get access to technology, skilling programs and an opportunity to co-sell with Microsoft. As well as support from Microsoft engineering and product teams for co-innovation opportunities. The startups are from Nigeria, Kenya and Tanzania and feature six male and seven female founders.

The scale-up accelerator program is a partnership program between GreenHouse Capital and Microsoft. It seeks to provide startups with technology infrastructure, technical skills, and funding to enable them rapidly launch in new markets.

In March this year, Microsoft announced new initiatives under its Africa Transformation Office (ATO) to accelerate the growth of startups in Africa and fast-track investment in Africa’s startup ecosystem. By supporting African startups with $500 million in potential funding. It also plans to accelerate the growth of 10,000 African startups over the next five years by partnering with accelerators, tech hubs and incubators across Africa, such as GreenHouse Capital, to achieve this.

The six weeks acceleration program will see the startups participate in 12 instructor-led sessions, 10 workshops and three-panel discussions. It will also feature a demo day session that will bring global investors to meet the start-up founders. Sessions are tailored to help the startup’s scale raise subsequent funding rounds.

Earlier Flapmax, another partner introduced 12 startups to kick off the FAST startup accelerator program.

Here are the startups, the founders and their countries.

Scale-Up Accelerator program startups

scale-up accelerator africa microsoft greenhouse capital

Ourpass (Samuel Eze, Rogers Mugisa), Nigeria 

One Health (Adeola Alli), Nigeria  

BuuPass (Sonia Kabra, Wycliffe Omondi), Kenya  

GetEquity (Jude Dike, Temitope Ekundayo, William Okafor), Nigeria 

Gobeba (Lesley Mbogo, Peter NdianguI ), Kenya  

Oystr (Ifedolapo Lawal, Olusola Onajobi), Nigeria  

Afya Bora (Reginald Victor Runyoro, Tisha Singh), Tanzania 

Chekkit (Dare Odumade), Nigeria  

Zydii (Joyce Mbaya, Rhoda Kingori), Kenya  

Eight medical (Ibukun Tunde Oni), Nigeria  

Herconomy (Ife Durosinmi-Etti), Nigeria

Pharmarun (Teniola Adedeji, Lola Aderemi), Nigeria

 Mobiele (Ife Akintaju, Sayo Owolabi), Nigeria 

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Catherine Muraga joins Microsoft as the new ADC MD

Catherine Muraga joins Microsoft as the new ADC MD

Catherine Muraga, former head of the engineering team at Stanbic Bank Kenya is joining Microsoft as the new head of the Africa Development Center (ADC East) software engineering hub. She takes over from Jack Nagare who recently made the switch to join Google Cloud as Technical Director.

Catherine Muraga Microsoft ADC East Kenya software engineering hub lead
Catherine speaking at a Girls in ICT Kenya event. Image via Twitter: Shikoh Gitau @DrShikoh

Catherine Muraga brings a diverse wealth of experience to Microsoft ADC having worked in a variety of industries such as manufacturing, aviation, and banking. With an expansive 15 years of knowledge of the IT landscape in Kenya and the region.

Prior to joining Microsoft, she led the Engineering team at Stanbic Bank Kenya and South Sudan. Leading all engineering capabilities including information technology, data, AI and Analytics, Cyber Security, Operations & Real estate services. She was also a member of the bank’s Executive Leadership team. She was previously the Director of IT and Operations at Sidian Bank.

I am excited to be joining the ADC at this particular time says Catherine Muraga. “I look forward to continuing the tremendous work that has already begun“, she adds. 

Catherine is an alumnus of Columbia Business School Digital Strategies for Business, Oxford University Fintech Programme and holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Science from Africa Nazarene University. 

Microsoft says the ADC engineering hub has grown to over 450 full-time employees.

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