FutureTech Academy — Accelerating Tech Careers & Youth Innovation
Fast-tracking the shift from classroom learning to workplace readiness through an intensive, 3-year cohort-based Graduate Trainee Program operated under Softlib Limited.
“In July 2017, during the marking and celebration of a decade of innovation, Tangazoletu pledged to drive sustainable social impact by equipping young people, young women, and talent from marginalized communities with pathways to dignified employment. This commitment led to the founding of FutureTech Academy — Tangazoletu’s social enterprise engine designed to identify, capacity-build, and place emerging African tech talent into meaningful, long-term careers.”
FutureTech Academy is our dedicated social enterprise arm built to give back to society. We identify, recruit, train, and place ambitious youth, young women, and individuals from marginalized communities into meaningful technology careers across Africa.
The 5 Integrated Pillars of FutureTech Academy
Mindset & Workplace Readiness
Building resilience, adaptability, continuous learning (Kaizen), and soft skills critical for modern corporate careers.
Business Acumen
Immersion in real-world business dynamics, business logic, and financial technology operations.
Enhanced Team Collaboration
Transitioning graduates from competitive solo academic environments into collaborative, cross-functional engineering teams.
AI & ML-Centric Core Competencies
Practical mastery in full-stack software development, APIs, ERPs, cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence/machine learning competencies.
Standardized Best Practices
Embedding industry-proven coding standards, security frameworks, and quality assurance protocols.
The Cohort Journey & Learning Pathway
1. Recruitment & Selection
Targeted outreach identifying top tech graduates, unemployed youth, and young women.
2. Intensive Bootcamps
Hands-on, project-based technical training solving real-world market challenges from day one.
3. Mindset & Employability Workshops
Mentorship, leadership development, and peer-to-peer learning simulations.
4. Industry Placement & Incubation
Deployment into live enterprise projects across fintech, health, government, and banking sectors under Softlib Limited.
5. Active Alumni Network
Continuous mentorship, ecosystem engagement, and community reinvestment.
Learning & Collaboration in Action
Trainees learn by doing: in the classroom, around the boardroom table and on live projects, side by side with their mentors and peers.
Nurturing Talent to Power SACCO Growth
Many SACCOs are experts in financial intermediation and social empowerment, yet find the overhead of managing complex ICT departments daunting. FutureTech Academy bridges that gap by seconding trained talent directly to these institutions.
By placing Academy graduates in SACCOs across the country, Tangazoletu ensures that these institutions are not just buying software, but gaining the human intelligence required to run it.
Security as a Culture
As SACCOs face mounting pressure on data privacy and cybersecurity, the Academy has built these pillars into its curriculum. Trainees are taught to treat security as a culture, focusing on three key areas.
Secure Systems
Building code that is resilient to attacks.
Secure Processes
Ensuring the SACCO's internal workflows protect member data.
Human Talent
Training staff to recognise and mitigate social engineering threats.
Trainees are also taught to embrace Artificial Intelligence as a lever that helps SACCOs minimise operational costs, particularly in research and marketing tools.
Real-World Impact
Sweedy Koskey, a 2024 Kabarak University graduate, joined the program in early 2025. Now a Junior Innovations Developer, she supports SACCO clients directly, and her troubleshooting has reduced the number of support tickets they raise.
What Our Alumni Say
Reflections from graduates of the program, in their own words. Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
Joining as a Software Engineer Graduate Trainee gave me a strong foundation for my career. The program sharpened my technical skills and exposed me to real-world problem-solving, teamwork and innovation in fintech. The self-mastery and growth mindset I built there still shape how I approach every challenge.
The program gave me early exposure to the professional world and showed me how businesses operate in practice. The practical skills in project management, leadership and problem-solving made me stand out in interviews and prepared me to deliver results on the job.
The program kick-started my career. I gained ERP development skills on Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Business Central, with supportive mentors who walked with us through the entire journey. Those skills helped me secure a role as a Business Central Technical Consultant in Australia.
The mindset training gave me strategies to adapt to new work environments, and the business and technology training opened my eyes to careers in tech beyond software development. I was absorbed into Tangazoletu as a Scrum Master and Project Manager, which has shaped my career to date.
I joined knowing almost nothing and left with a wealth of experience across different industries and systems. Tangazoletu was a stepping stone to greater opportunities, and it taught me that there is no limit to growth if you keep at it.
The program has been a turning point in my career. I applied the training immediately on real projects, contributing to banking applications, a multi-tenant teller system and USSD solutions. I learned that success in tech takes more than technical skill: technology must address customer needs to create value.
Coming straight out of university, this was my first real-world exposure to software engineering, and it was truly foundational. Having worked across frontend, backend and DevOps gave me an edge in interviews, and Kaizen — continuous improvement — remains a principle I live by.
The program gave me valuable insight into Kenya’s fintech landscape, working alongside banks, telcos and other financial system providers. After graduating I went on to head the project team at Tangazoletu, and today I lead our Technical Product Owners.
Working on real projects such as SpotCash showed me how financial systems can be transformed through creativity and problem-solving. After the program I was offered a contract to continue at Tangazoletu as a Software Engineer, which validated the skills and discipline the Academy gave me.
Tangazoletu was a turning point in my career. The practical skills, industry exposure and mentorship gave me the confidence to take on professional challenges, and I secured a job soon after completing the program. We were taught to find solutions rather than place blame — a lesson in resilience and teamwork I still carry.
The program was transformative. It combined technical training with real business challenges, and the mentorship and hands-on projects gave me a competitive edge. I secured a role in fintech soon afterwards, and the transition into industry was smooth.
I joined straight from campus with no idea how the industry worked. Rigorous training taught me how real-world problems are handled, both technically and mentally, and the Agile certification I earned has stood out in every interview since. Agile began as a mindset and has become my lifestyle.
The hands-on training and mentorship built my confidence to take on complex projects. I strengthened my expertise in ERP systems, system analysis and integration, and I now manage end-to-end implementation projects and solve complex client challenges with confidence.
My experience at Tangazoletu was simply phenomenal. It exposed me to the technologies the market demands and catapulted me into greater career opportunities, and it gave me the confidence to keep learning and exploring new ventures.
The program gave me a strong foundation in both technical and business skills. It gave me the confidence to lead, the mindset to keep learning and the vision to use technology for impact beyond just a career.
The Academy was a defining milestone in my journey. It sharpened my technical expertise, built my professional discipline and gave me the confidence to take on complex challenges and deliver value in any environment. I left with skills for work and wisdom for life.
Hear It From Us
Chris Gathingu on FutureTech Academy (2026)
Sweedy Koskey, FutureTech Academy trainee (2026)
Chris Gathingu on the Tangazoletu Academy (2025)
Featured in SACCO Trend Magazine
SACCO Trend Magazine profiled FutureTech Academy in March 2026, in the feature "Bridging the digital divide: How Tangazoletu's Future Tech Academy is nurturing talent to power SACCO growth".
What began as a corporate social responsibility initiative has grown into a rigorous three-year graduate trainee program that takes campus graduates and nurtures them into industry experts.
Partner With FutureTech Academy
For Enterprise Employers
Access rightly-priced, industry-ready tech talent trained in high-demand competencies.
For Donors & Foundations
Partner with Tangazoletu to scale youth digital skills across Sub-Saharan Africa, create sustainable livelihoods, and bridge gender equity in technology.