When Innovation Meets Purpose: Youth Coding Solutions for Everyday Life

When Ivy Imo, born and raised in Teso, Busia County, was turned away from a hospital because essential medicine was unavailable; she left with more than frustration. She left with a question.

Why do shortages continue to happen, and could technology help prevent them?

Hundreds of kilometers away, Brian Okello was searching for ways to grow his business in an increasingly digital world, while Immaculate Odhiambo was exploring how technology could simplify everyday challenges faced by households.

Though their paths were different, they shared one thing in common: a belief that technology can be a force for change.

Across Kisumu County, young people from different educational and professional backgrounds are embracing digital skills to solve real-life problems, build businesses, and prepare for a future driven by innovation. Technology is no longer reserved for computer scientists or software engineers.

For Ivy Imo, the journey into technology began in an unexpected place, a public hospital.

Trained in Forensic Biology, Ivy never imagined she would become a software developer. But after visiting a hospital and being told there was no medicine available, she began asking questions. Why were essential drugs unavailable? Who was tracking the supply chain? Could technology provide a solution?

Those questions inspired her to develop AfyaTrack, a digital platform designed to monitor medicine stocks in hospitals, improve accountability, and reduce shortages.

"I wanted to understand what happens behind the scenes," Ivy says. "Technology allows us to solve problems that affect people's everyday lives."

Although she was already learning software development at Zone 01 Kisumu, DigiKen Academy helped her strengthen the foundations often overlooked in fast-paced coding programmes.

"It simplified concepts that seemed complicated and helped me understand how computers, networks and digital systems actually work," she explains. "It also taught me how to present my ideas and build my personal brand."

Brian Okello Odhiambo from Kisumu is also pursuing a different dream.

Already a communications consultant and junior software developer, Brian joined DigiKen not because he lacked digital skills, but because he wanted to sharpen them.

"I realized I was not just offering services, I needed to build a digital business," he says.

Using lessons from DigiKen, Brian automated many of his consultancy services, developed a professional online platform, and integrated artificial intelligence into customer interactions. Today, clients can access his services through an automated system that responds instantly, freeing him to focus on software development and business growth.

"The programme changed the way I think about technology," he explains. "It is not only about learning new skills. It is about using technology to work smarter and create opportunities."

For Brian, the future belongs to young people willing to embrace digital transformation.

"Digital platforms have made the world a global village," he says. "Young people have to position themselves not just as consumers of technology but as innovators."

For Odhiambo Immaculate, an apprentice at Zone 01 Kisumu from Nyakach Area, DigiKen reinforced an important lesson: learning never stops.

With a background in Computer Science, she viewed the programme as an opportunity to refresh and deepen her knowledge. Along the way, she discovered that mastering the basics was just as important as building sophisticated systems.

"Technology keeps changing," he says. "You have to keep revisiting what you think you already know."

The lessons quickly found their way into her own innovation. She is currently developing PowerSmart, a platform that helps households manage electricity tokens by automatically retrieving delayed tokens, tracking purchase history, and sending alerts before electricity runs out.

One lesson from DigiKen had an immediate impact.

"I used to struggle with organising my files and databases," she explains. "Now I understand how proper file management makes software development more efficient."

Although Ivy, Brian and Immaculate come from different backgrounds, their stories share a common thread. Each is using digital skills not simply to find employment, but to create solutions that respond to challenges within their communities, from improving healthcare systems to automating businesses and making everyday services more accessible.

Their journeys also demonstrate that digital literacy extends beyond coding. It includes understanding online safety, protecting intellectual property, building professional networks, communicating ideas effectively, and using technology responsibly.

Through DigiKen, UN Women is supporting the advancement of an inclusive, gender-responsive and sustainable digital economy in Kenya. Implemented in partnership UNEP, UNESCO and UNCDF through the African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS) and digital innovation hubs like Zone 01 Kisumu LakeHub, the programme equips young women and men with digital, entrepreneurial and innovation skills while promoting online safety, digital rights and women's participation in the digital economy.

As Kenya's digital landscape continues to evolve, stories like those of Ivy, Brian and Immaculate show that the country's next generation of innovators is already building solutions that matter, one idea, one skill and one opportunity at a time.