Teaching coding in schools unlock future employment opportunities

KENYA: 

With the vast developments experienced in technology, no one is left behind, including children. The onset of Covid-19 accelerated internet use as children learned and interacted with others online. Adults worked from home using laptops and smartphones among other gadgets.   

Indeed, this remarkable move has simplified operations, reduced congestion in the offices, and minimized coasts through transport.

Notably, the government of Kenya has been at the forefront of ensuring children enjoy technology.

Through the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development, the government has approved a new syllabus and coding for teaching in primary and secondary schools.

The chief executive of KICD notes that coding enables children to imagine, create, and solve problems since it is a practical thinking activity.

In the quest, Kodris Africa, an online publishing firm that specializes in equipping learners with 21st-century skills such as creative problem solving and algorithmic thinking right from the elementary level will be in charge of offering classes.   

Kenya, therefore, stands to be the first country in Africa to offer such a syllabus.

Other countries offering coding in schools across the globe include Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Lithuania, Malta, Spain, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, and the United Kingdom.

The laudable attempt to educate children technically sets them in a better position for upcoming future jobs.

Other countries are in the race to adopt coding in their education curriculum to avoid children’s future displacement by robots and machines and safely land in the right careers.

In the era where the country is facing increased unemployment, investing in technology becomes the topmost priority.

Metamorphoses from employee to entrepreneur

 

“One of the most frightening days of my life was the day I quit my job and officially became an entrepreneur. On that day I knew there were no more steady paychecks, no more health insurance or retirement plan. No more days off for being sick or paid vacations,” Robert T. Kiyosaki says in the introduction of his famous book “Before You Quit Your Job”.

He reveals that one day his income went to zero. The terror of not having a steady paycheck was one of the most frightening experiences he had ever experienced. Worst of all, he did not know how long it would be before he would have another steady paycheck . . . it might be years.

The moment he quit his job he found out the real reason why many employees do not become entrepreneurs. It is fear of not having any money . . . no guaranteed income . . . no steady paycheck.

In my daily activities as a journalist, I have encountered renowned CEOs who opened up on the challenges they encountered before building cutting-edge businesses across the world.  Most of all, financial constraints appear to be the major uphill.

As an entrepreneur, you should rent an office, a parking stall, a warehouse, buy a desk, a lamp, rent a phone, pay for travel, hotels, taxis, meals, copies, pens, paper, staples, stationery, legal tablets, postage, brochures, products, and even coffee for the office. Also, you have to hire a secretary, an accountant, an attorney, a bookkeeper, a business insurance agent, and even a janitorial service.

Therefore, unlike an employee, an entrepreneur needs to know how to spend money, even if they do not have money.

Kiyosaki reveals that people are not born entrepreneurs, they are trained.

Unfortunately, in our society majority of the parents take their children to school so that they can have better jobs in the future. Many say to their children, ‘Go to school so you can get a good job.’ I have yet to hear any parent say, ‘Go to school to become an entrepreneur."

READ: Why you should consider a side hustle

READ: How microeconomic stability can grow private investments

Notably, our ancestors, to be specific; during the agrarian age were entrepreneurs. Therefore, employees can be considered a new phenomenon.

Many were farmers who worked the king’s lands. They did not receive a paycheck from the king. In fact, it was the other way around. The farmer paid the king a tax for the right to use the land. Those who were not farmers were tradespeople and small business entrepreneurs. They were butchers, bakers, and candlestick makers.

Parents have heavily staked on formal education which is leaving a huge number of youths unemployed.

Interestingly, most famous entrepreneurs did not finish school. Some of those entrepreneurs are Thomas Edison, founder of General Electric; Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Company; Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft; Richard Branson, founder of Virgin; Michael Dell, founder of Dell Computers; Steven Jobs, founder of Apple Computers and Pixar; and Ted Turner, founder of CNN.

It elaborates that employment guarantees security whereas entrepreneurship has freedom.     

Kiyosaki overcame his fears and now his company, which he started with $1,500; today The Rich Dad Company is an international business with products in forty-four different languages, doing business in over eighty countries.

What should be put in mind is that a successful business is created before there is a business and success reveals your failures. 

The richest people in the universe are not employed. We should have consideration of sending children to the school of entrepreneurship to build a wealthy nation tomorrow.

How microeconomic stability can grow private investments

 

KENYA :

Kenya has made significant political and economic reforms that have contributed to sustained economic growth, social development, and political stability over the past decade. However, its key development challenges still include poverty, inequality, transparency and accountability, climate change, continued weak private sector investment, and the economy's vulnerability to internal and external shocks, according to the World Bank.

The poverty rate is increasing in Kenya as the living standards are upscale.

Yes, we appreciate the government's efforts that have seen the economy flourish; what about thousands of Kenyans plunging into poverty?

It is true; people find it hard to have two meals daily.

While in a supermarket, a certain man told me that one thousand shillings are like one hundred shillings nowadays. His sentiment got me thinking. I dived into thoughts to compare life now and five years before.  I could buy lunch with a hundred shillings, but now I cannot.

READ: How Njoroge bags 1 M weekly from onion business

Poverty is an unacceptable deprivation of human well-being that can comprise physiological and social deprivation. Physiological deprivation involves the non-fulfillment of basic material or biological needs, including inadequate nutrition, health, education, and shelter. A person can be considered poor if he or she is unable to secure the goods and services to meet these basic material needs. Physiological deprivation is thus closely related but can extend beyond low monetary income and consumption levels. Social deprivation widens the concept of risk, vulnerability, lack of autonomy, powerlessness, and lack of self-respect.

Therefore, the government should draw attention to the increasing poverty rate in the country. An important aspect that it should primarily focus on is microeconomic stability. The laid strategies to mitigate poverty should be sustainable and noninflationary.

Notably, macroeconomic stability is the cornerstone of any successful effort to increase private sector development and economic growth. Cross-country regressions using a large sample of countries suggest that growth, investment, and productivity positively correlate with macroeconomic stability.

Microeconomic instability is a significant burden on the poor. Inflation, for example, is a regressive and arbitrary tax, the burden of which is typically borne disproportionately by those in lower-income brackets. The reason is twofold.

READ: Next government should enhance economic capital to create jobs and grow economy

Poor people tend to hold their assets in cash rather than interest-bearing assets. Additionally, they are generally less able than are better off to protect the actual value of their incomes and assets from inflation. In consequence, the price jumps generally erode the real wages and assets of the poor more than those of the non-poor. Moreover, beyond certain thresholds, inflation also curbs output growth, which will impact even those among the poor who infrequently use the money for economic transactions.

Thus, the government has to adjust and come up with measures that will improve the poverty rate in the country.

Macroeconomic policies influence and contribute to attaining rapid, sustainable economic growth aimed at poverty reduction in various ways. Policymakers send clear signals to the private sector by pursuing sound economic policies.

How Njoroge bags 1 M weekly from onion business

KENYA:  

He believes that just because the past taps on his shoulder doesn’t mean he has to look

back.

American musician Jackson Brown challenges us that nothing is more expensive than a

missed opportunity.

From a tender age, Peter Njoroge demonstrated the zeal to tap any opportunity that he

stumbled on the way.

In Bwayi village, Kwanza constituency, Trans-nzoia County, he became a herd’s boy; the

the only thing he could do since he was bred in a humble family.

He could not complete schooling due to poverty, a situation that rendered him a school

dropout.

He decided to cast his net to the world of more opportunities after dropping out of school

in class seven with little expectations, skills, and knowledge. However, he had ardent ambitions

to become a resourceful person in society.

He landed a peanut-paying job at one of the major hotels in Eldoret, where he worked as

a chef.

His situation got messy and noisy following the bleakness and uncertainties that came

forth after losing the job; hence, planning on how to cast his net again to salvage his life. He had

to make a rational decision on what to indulge in bearing in mind the consequences that may

result from the decision that he would make.

"I sat down and thought of what to do after being laid off, and making the decision was a

major hurdle for me because I did not have the skills that are required in different offices,” says

Njoroge.

After meekly consulting with friends, in 2004 he decided to take a stab by selling onions.

READ: Next government should enhance economic capital to create jobs and grow economy

"However, I noted that I had small savings, so I decided to open a small onion stall,

believing that it was the best thing for me to do.”

He delved into the business as a local middleman and later started selling the onions as a

wholesaler in town.

His prowess and consistency in onion selling created a positive rapport with other

business people in the market, rendering him trustworthy.

READ: Why you should consider a side hustle

“In the same year, my business colleagues used to send me to get onions in bulk on their

behalf at a friendly transport fee,” he said, adding he was able to tap profit from transportation;

thus, adding to his business.

It is estimated that one acre of land produces at least 16,000 kilos of onion bulbs. In 2022,

the price of onion per kilo has been around Sh107.83. Notably, red onions are the most profitable

in the country.

The entrepreneur started penetrating beyond borders to source onion in countries such as

Tanzania, Burundi, and Rwanda. According to him, this was a milestone.

He acquired a 50-acre land at Moshi, Mang’oli province in Tanzania, an asset that has

been vital to boost his enterprise by growing onions.

Now he imports six lories of onions from Tanzania every week. The stock is then

distributed to different counties in Kenya Including Kakamega, Kitale, Kakuma, and Naivasha.

In Kenya, Njoroge&'s source of onions is mainly Loitoktok.

READ: Prevent children in the growing digital environment

The 2014 Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) report showed that 50 percent of

the red onions are imported from Tanzania.

According to Faostat, onion consumption per capita reached 0.590 in 2019 in Kenya.

Historically, onion consumption per capita in Kenya reached an all-time high of 2.97 in 2008 and

an all-time low of 0.130 in 1966.

World onion production is approximately 105 billion pounds each year. The average

annual onion consumption calculates to approximately 13.67 pounds of onions per person across

the world.

This year, Kenya has been ranked 145 out of 151 countries in terms of interest rates on

onion consumption per capita.

In a 50kg bag of onion, Njoroge gets Sh400 profit.

“A lorry carries around 400 bags. That means that from a single lorry I get a profit of

Sh160, 000. Therefore, in a week I make nearly one million including tax.”

As an open-minded entrepreneur, he has set up rental houses in Tanzania and Kenya.

He also rears dairy cattle, such as Freshian and Ayrshire, from which he sells milk at

friendly prices.

Prevent children in the growing digital environment

 KENYA: 

Over the past two decades, Kenya has been experiencing tremendous technological developments with the Covid-19 pandemic accelerating further.

The rampant technology has seen children adopt it for education and interaction purposes. There has been a dramatic shift in how children socialize and learn. This is not only in Kenya, it is estimated that one in three children is an internet user in the world.

Despite the advantages the technology has presented, it is evident that it is exposing children to inappropriate content, which includes violence and sex.

This is mostly encountered on social media platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp where strangers force children to sexual abuse by sending nudes.

Studies indicate that more than 12 million Kenyan children have online access to adult pornography. This is done using friends' and parents' phones and school computers.

National Plan of Action to Combat Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (OCSEA) report reveals that out of 21.9 children in the country, 55 percent have widespread access to pornography and are vulnerable to sexual exploitation.

READ: Why you should consider side hustle

Apart from pornography, copycat is another monster that is facing our younger generation. Children, through the internet, are adopting various lifestyles, some of which are dangerous. Therefore, for instance, if a child fails to copy a certain lifestyle, mostly luxurious, s/he ends up in the stress of how to attain it.

Accessing pornographic content raises the desire for them to engage in intercourse since it is prohibited; they deploy dangerous means to get it. Some end up contracting HIV. At the end of it all, they are psychologically affected.

This raises concerns to have robust discussions about the impacts of the digital world on children's mental health.

Kepios analysis shows that there was an astronomical increase of internet users in Kenya by 1.6 million, which is equivalent to 7.4 percent between 2021 and 2022.

By January this year, there were 23.35 million individuals subscribed to the internet, which represents 42 percent of the total population. This is heavily contributed to the steadfast efforts of the government to enhance technology in the country with the FY2021/22 ICT and Energy sectors were allocated 332.86 billion making it a regional technological leader.

Therefore, leading in technological advancements is a breakthrough; however, another urgent breakthrough is required in understanding the effects occasioned by the digital environment on children's mental health and how to solve them.

READ: Next government should enhance economic capital to create jobs and grow economy

However, this should be done in a balanced way considering the positive impacts of technology. The Internet is a source of mental health information. Children who are languishing in loneliness can find the company on social media.

This, therefore, calls upon the joint efforts of government, educators, caregivers, tech companies, and children themselves in promoting their mental health.

It should be noted that now it is difficult to completely ban children from accessing the internet. If parents do, school computers are available, if schools do, friends' gadgets are available. A good number of them own the gadgets behind the back of their parents.

As the Communication Authority of Kenya and tech companies are in the run to promote the positive use of technology, parents, educators, and caregivers should engage children on how to maximize its use positively.

Why you should consider a side hustle

 

WORLD: Steve Jobs worked at Atari, while Steve Wozniak was an engineer at HP in 1976. During their free time, they worked on building a computer in a garage called Apple I. Apple has revolutionized the tech industry by developing media player software, which became iTunes, an mp3 player, the iPod, and a cellular device, the iPhone.

While Harvard’s freshman in 2003, Mark Zuckerberg developed Facemash, which allowed students to judge others based on attractiveness. Although the site was pulled down in two days, it inspired him, together with his friends, to create a social networking site, Facebook, in 2004. Over 2 billion people are using the platform across the world.

Instagram co-founder Kelvin Systrom was working in 2009, but he taught himself how to code in his liberated time. Eventually, he was able to build Burbn, a mobile check-in app. He hired Mike Krieger, who enabled him to develop and launch Instagram. The platform has more than 1 billion users globally now.

Kevin Plank, a football player at the University of Maryland in the 90s, was vexed by how cotton shirts stuck to his body when he sweated. He started a side project to develop shirts that would not soak up the sweat. The side hustle turned to Armour, among the leading sportswear companies.

Mike Kittredge, at the age of 16, used crayons to make a candle to gift his mother. It attracted the neighbor's attention, who asked him to create one at a fee. This motivated Kittredge, who turned candle-making into a side hustle operating outside his parents' garage. Today, Yankee Candle has 500 stores with over 19,000 retailers selling Yankee Candle products, according to Boston.com. 

READ: Next government should enhance economic capital to create jobs and grow economy

These are just a fraction of the flourishing companies worldwide that began as side hustles.

Covid-19 taught us a crucial lesson about being in formal employment. Many people lost their jobs, and those lucky received pay cuts.

It is time that people became more innovative and found the real importance of being an entrepreneur.

Now, the high cost of living is another lesson. People are on the run to find extra coins.

It is important to understand that quitting your daily job is not necessary to start a business.

Economists say starting a side business is one of the smartest financial moves. With the economy shaky, no one can have too much income diversity.

READ: Prevent children in the growing digital environment

Although a side hustle is a crucial source of extra income to pay bills, save money, and invest, it can become a huge enterprise that would employ more people.

Next government should enhance economic capital to create jobs and grow economy

Nairobi Expressway 

KENYA: 

On 27^th June, I keenly listened to the panel interview of Azimio presidential candidate Raila Odinga and his running mate Martha Karua. In the whole discussion, two crucial things got my attention; the creation of job opportunities and the economy.

Indeed, these are the two aspects of concern to every Kenyan, considering the high cost of living that has been occasioned by the Ukraine-Russia war, changing weather patterns, and the Covid-19 pandemic.

In his book, The Coming Jobs War, Jim Clifton, pollster, and chairman of Gallup, illustrates that job creation and economic growth pose the most significant challenge for world leaders.

Kenya is facing high unemployment rates, mostly among youths. The challenge is casing increased hopelessness, making many of them indulge in unregulated businesses such as cryptocurrency for survival.  

Therefore, any aspirant should address the two challenges that the country is facing.

In the interview, Azimio presidential candidate clearly elaborated that the government cannot provide enough employment to the citizens. According to him, the current civil servants in the country stand at 700,000, already occupied. Therefore it is difficult to have new opportunities unless the servant retires or dies. He estimates that there can be at least 70,000 vacancies in a year.

This shows how private sectors play a vital role in job creation.

Understanding this, therefore, draws concern to enhancing the sectors so that more job opportunities are created, and the economy flourishes.

READ: Why you should consider side hustle

For the past two decades, the government has paid attention to enhancing economic and social overhead capital, which are necessary for the private sectors to thrive. For instance, the government has constructed roads and improved telecommunication and power transmission systems on financial overhead capital. On the other hand, it has invested in social capital in various ways, such as enhancing security, education, and health sectors.

We can see that private businesses can now transport their products easily. Telecommunication has enabled them to sell their commodities and link with oversea companies. This is a milestone.

However, the aspirants, who want to change the lives of millions of Kenyans, should master a common feature of economic infrastructure. This is because its benefits accrue to many diverse groups.  READ: Prevent children in growing digital environment

It is pivotal in transitioning the poor to an affluent society; thus, essential in achieving self-sustaining growth.

It is important to understand that the economic infrastructure not only paves the way for faster growth but also provides shared benefits for all.

Although the process is difficult, thanks to the outgoing government, which heavily invested in infrastructure, albeit receiving a lot of criticism. Additionally, power systems have penetrated the rural areas. Also, communication in the country has been enhanced. Much has been done in the ICT sector, which is also crucial in communication.

The process requires huge expenditure, perhaps the reason the Jubilee government accumulated debts. Therefore, the next government should develop private businesses and foreign investors. This will see job creation and grow our economy.