Kenyan university students have made the country proud at the 2024–2025 Huawei ICT Competition Global Finals, showcasing not only their technical prowess but also the country’s growing position as a digital skills powerhouse in Africa.
Kenya Secures Multiple Global Awards
At this year’s finals, held in Shenzhen, China, Kenyan teams won top positions across four major tracks:
- First Prize in the Computing Track: Secured by a joint team from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) and Machakos University.
- Second Prize in the Network Track: Achieved by a combined team from Machakos University, JKUAT, and the University of Nairobi (UoN).
- Second Prize in the Cloud Track: Won by students from JKUAT and Moi University.
- Third Prize in the Innovation Track: Earned by the ‘Silicon Savannah’ team from Egerton University, who developed a Smart Air Quality Monitoring System.
Additionally, an all-girls team from Kenya – Ifrah Hussein, Banzy Nyaga, and Beverlyn Ndombi – received special recognition with the Women in Technology Award, highlighting the importance of gender inclusion in ICT.
National Pride and Support
Kenya’s Principal Secretary for Youth Affairs and the Creative Economy, Fikirini Jackobs, who attended the award ceremony, commended the students and lecturers:
“Congratulations TEAM Kenya for the resounding victory... More grace as we explore and nurture expertise for the betterment of our beloved country.”
The Kenyan delegation also included Ambassador to China H.E Willy Bett, Huawei Kenya’s Khadija Mohammed, Education Attaché Albert Ombiro, and other academic representatives and supporters from the participating universities.
Southern Africa Region Strongly Represented
The finals also saw strong performances from teams across Southern Africa, including students from Cameroon, Ghana, Madagascar, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda. These teams secured awards across the Network, Cloud, Computing, and Innovation tracks – further reflecting the region’s accelerating digital transformation.
A Decade of Global Impact
The 2024–2025 edition marked 10 years of the Huawei ICT Competition, a flagship event that has engaged over 960,000 students from 2,000 institutions across more than 100 countries since 2015.
This year, over 210,000 students participated globally, with 179 finalist teams from 48 countries and regions making it to the Global Final.
Huawei’s Ritchie Peng, Director of ICT Strategy & Business Development, stated during the opening ceremony:
“The Practice Competition aligns with our vision for an Intelligent World 2030. The Innovation Competition motivates participants to solve real-world challenges in sectors like agriculture, healthcare, and education.”
Kenya’s ICT Ecosystem Is Expanding
Huawei’s ICT Academy initiative, launched in Kenya in 2016, continues to scale. Today, over 50 universities and colleges in Kenya offer Huawei-certified training in technologies such as routing, cloud computing, IP, 5G, and AI.
By 2024, Huawei had set up ICT Academies in over 478 institutions across Southern Africa, training more than 100,000 students and 1,500 teachers. In Kenya alone, over 12,000 students and 320 lecturers have been trained, with more than 4,000 students trained annually.
Huawei’s Smart Classroom Solution, which integrates AI-powered analytics, knowledge graphs, and interactive learning tools, is also part of the broader education transformation efforts in Kenya and the region.
UNESCO and Global Recognition
The Huawei ICT Competition is recognized as a flagship initiative under UNESCO’s Global Skills Academy, further validating the program’s global impact and relevance in addressing the digital skills gap.
Looking Ahead
With consistent wins at global platforms and growing partnerships between academia, government, and tech giants like Huawei, Kenya’s digital skills pipeline is clearly gaining international recognition. The country’s youth are not just participants in the digital revolution – they are shaping it.
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