Dar es Salaam: TECHzMagazine – News Desk
Airtel Tanzania, in collaboration with the Dar Teknohama Business Incubator (DTBi) and COSTECH, is actively bridging the digital divide for Tanzanian youth through its innovative Fursa Lab initiative. Operating out of Kijitonyama Secondary School in Dar es Salaam, the lab equips primary, secondary, and university students, as well as out-of-school youth, with practical technology skills to prepare them for the modern digital economy.
The Fursa Lab is designed to address the persistent gap between the theoretical knowledge young people acquire and the practical, hands-on skills demanded by today’s tech industry. The facility offers comprehensive training across several critical areas, including programming and coding languages such as Python, Java, and Scratch. Students also gain hands-on experience with robotics and IoT using Arduino, Lego Mindstorms, and Micro-bit technology. To round out their technical education, participants learn digital and 3D design, web and mobile app development, and foundational business skills like digital marketing and business plan writing.
Since its founding in July 2017, the collaborative initiative has successfully trained over 4,000 individuals, placing a particularly strong emphasis on empowering young women in technology. In 2025 alone, the lab trained 1,616 people, of which an impressive 1,259 were women. This push is further supported by the lab’s “Future Women” mentorship initiative, which intentionally pairs young female participants with established professionals to help them navigate and succeed in underrepresented technology spaces.
The lab functions as a safe, exploratory space for youth to build confidence. Eighteen-year-old participant Kelvin Mussa Kieta noted that the facility provides a rare environment where students can experiment without the fear of failure, allowing them to continually refine their code or robotic designs until they work. Beyond early exposure to STEM and coding, the broader Airtel Fursa program actively supports local entrepreneurs.
The initiative aims to help young business owners adopt digital innovation to transform their operations into sustainable enterprises, thereby promoting financial inclusion within the community. By providing essential equipment and training in digital record-keeping and business strategies, the program enables participants to streamline their businesses and serve their customers more effectively. Through strong private-sector partnerships and early exposure to hands-on innovation, Airtel Tanzania and DTBi are laying the groundwork to nurture the nation’s next generation of digital talent and tech innovators.
