NairoBits Trust joined Safaricom Decode 2025 with a delegation of students and alumni, taking a stand on the showcase floor to present the work they have built through our digital skills programmes.
Decode brings together developers, designers, students and technology companies from across Kenya. For our learners — most of whom come from Nairobi’s informal settlements and other under-resourced communities — a room like that is rarely accessible. Walking into it as exhibitors rather than spectators changes what they believe is possible for themselves.
Our students demonstrated projects drawn from across the NairoBits curriculum: web and mobile builds, user interface and graphic design work, and data and multimedia projects developed during their time in the programme. Each one was presented by the student who built it, who talked visitors through the problem they set out to solve, the tools they chose and what they would do differently next time.
Why showcases like this matter
Technical training only goes so far on its own. What turns a trained student into a working professional is the ability to explain their thinking to someone who did not build the project with them — a recruiter, a client, a potential collaborator. A showcase floor is one of the few places where that skill can be practised under real conditions.
Just as importantly, the conversations our students had with industry practitioners fed straight back into our programme design. The feedback they collected on the floor tells us where the gap between what we teach and what employers are hiring for is narrowing, and where it is not.
Looking ahead
Participation in industry events is now a standing part of how we prepare students for the labour market, alongside our placement and mentorship work. We are grateful to the organisers for the platform, and to our students for representing NairoBits with such confidence.
