The well-known educational technology company Moringa School has joined forces with Safaricom and M-PESA Africa to teach developers all over Africa how to use digital APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) to create new and valuable solutions.
The goal of this group effort is to speed up the growth of the M-PESA ecosystem and address the severe lack of technical ability on the continent.
To keep its growing ecosystem going, M-PESA knows it needs a skilled pool of developers. That’s why it thinks this partnership is vital for directly addressing the lack of technical ability across the continent.
Developer shortages among key stakeholders cause skill shortages, especially in SMEs and micro-SMEs, preventing them from utilising the increasing smartphone and digital payments market.
This Nairobi-based organisation established online training programmes in Ghana and Nigeria.
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Acting CEO Fiona Kirua hails African developers
Moringa School Acting CEO Fiona Kirua says, “This partnership signifies a significant stride in our commitment to equipping developers with the requisite skills to propel innovation in the digital domain.” Africa’s digital landscape requires skilled developers.
M-PESA Africa Managing Director Sitoyo Lopokoiyit acknowledged the talent shortage, saying, “We are collaborating with Moringa School to train more developers across the continent in API and mobile app development. Given the growing use of smartphones and digital financial solutions, these abilities will help more firms, especially SMEs, connect their products and solutions to digital ecosystems like the M-PESA Super App.
Moringa School’s tailored curriculum focuses on developing M-PESA mini-apps, which allow businesses and organisations to integrate their services into the M-PESA Super App and reach over 60 million Safaricom and Vodacom users.
UI/UX frameworks, mini-app development, API development and integration are some of the curriculum’s main focus areas.
Additionally, the cooperation introduces a comprehensive certification programme. Successful developers will receive certification, recognising their skills and advancing their careers. It should improve M-PESA standards and competition.
The Moringa School website accepts applications from self-funded and group-sponsored students.
Learn more about Moringa School
Audrey Cheng is the creator, former CEO (2014-2021), and current board member of Moringa School, a Nairobi-based learning accelerator that teaches African youth coding to boost their employability and professions.
Moringa School launched its 5-6 month Software Development, Data Science, Product Design, and Cyber Security Bootcamps to integrate over 7,000+ learners from diverse backgrounds and experiences and channel their motivation to learn and grow through market-aligned curriculum, a learning approach that simulates practical on-the-job-experience, and a vibrant community of employer partners, higher learning institutions, This method prepared graduating students for the digital economy, as shown by the EdTech leader’s 70% employment rate for all job-seeking alums within 12 months.