Future-proofing youth in Kenya with digital skills training and quality employment opportunities
Kenyan company Daproim Africa is transforming outsourcing services in Africa through its inclusive business model targeting disadvantaged youth in Kenya
Nairobi, Kenya, 1 October 2019 – Impact sourcing service company Daproim Africa has joined Business Call to Action with a commitment to provide quality IT outsourcing solutions that bring about transformational impact by training 9,000 youth with little or no formal work experience. It has also committed to provide direct and indirect part-time employment opportunities on transcription, data entry and micro tasks to 5,000 youth, half of which are girls.
Launched in 2008, BCtA aims to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by challenging companies to develop inclusive business models that engage people with less than US$10 per day in purchasing power (in 2015 dollars) as consumers, producers, suppliers and distributors. It is supported by several international organizations and hosted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Youth from disadvantaged backgrounds in Kenya lack access to formal training that makes them competitive in the job market. Even when training is available, it may not reflect the changing needs of the labour market. Daproim Africa, established in 2006, is an impact sourcing service provider operating in Kenya aims to provide relevant skills to local youth and change the narrative of outsourcing in Africa. Employing its triple bottom line business model, it seeks to provide cost-effective, customer-focused service provision while ensuring transformational impact on the youth through extensive training and employment opportunities.
Daproim’s Digital Campus Connect (DCC) is one of the initiatives that has played a significant role in freeing underprivileged youth from poverty. The programme aims to help university students to earn a decent living and receive training on essentials skills in the current labour market, such as digital literacy and soft skills. The programme targets youth from poor backgrounds in institutions of higher learning to complete micro tasks for Daproim's partners, which include local and international companies, NGOs and other institutions. DCC was initiated in 2012 and to date has impacted the lives of 11,000 young people through training and 1,200 young people through employment.
Moreover, Daproim’s beneficiaries are able to work remotely for Daproim through a proprietary web application and thus earn an income to help pay for their education or support their families and communities back home.
“Daproim and its youth beneficiaries are creating a new market for service provision in Kenya. Young women and men are learning relevant, critical skills that not only make them more employable, but that also build a steady foundation on which to grow and continue to learn,” says Caroline Wanjiku, Daproim Africa CEO.
Acting Head of Business Call to Action, Sahba Sobhani says, “Daproim is contributing to multiple sustainable development goals while also investing in developing human capital to adapt to the needs of the future workforce. Such efforts to ensure youth are equipped with the right skills are critical in an age when technology is changing how we live, communicate and do business.”
For further information:
BCtA: bcta@undp.org
BCtA membership does not constitute a partnership with its funding and programme partners, UNDP or any UN agency.
About Business Call to Action (BCtA): Launched at the United Nations in 2008, BCtA aims to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by challenging companies to develop inclusive business models that offer the potential for both commercial success and development impact. BCtA is supported by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), UK Department for International Development (DFID), and hosted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). For more information, please visit www.businesscalltoaction.org.
About Daproim: Daproim is an impact sourcing service company operating in Kenya that provides quality IT outsourcing solutions while aiming to create digital skills and employment opportunities for low-income youths in Kenya.