29-Yr-Old Kenyan Girl Making Millions a Month and Giving It All to Poor Kids

A file image of TechLit Africa CEO, Nelly Cheboi.
A file image of TechLit Africa CEO, Nelly Cheboi.
peopleofcolorintech.com

Renowned American author and entrepreneur Jim Rohn once quipped that ambition is at the very core of success and extraordinary achievement. Unlike greed, ambition is a powerful, creative and constructive force. 

In the case of 29-year-old Nelly Cheboi, her persistence and drive towards getting her family out of poverty led her to monumental success. From a little village in Mogotio, Baringo County, Cheboi has risen to become the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of her own company, TechLit Africa. 

Through her own company, she recycles technology products from the United States of America (USA) to build computer laboratories in Kenya.

An image of TechLit Africa CEO Nelly Cheboi and students at Zawadi school.
An image of TechLit Africa CEO Nelly Cheboi and students at Zawadi school.
TechLit Africa

According to her profile on Forbes, Cheboi hires teachers and trains them to run the laboratories in their community in order to be fully equipped to teach students living in dilapidated areas. 

Speaking recently during a past media interview, Cheboi noted that she plans to open 100 more laboratories across the continent in order to enable children to access and learn digital skills. What turned out as a distant dream at one time for Cheboi is now a reality. 

Her story dates back to Mogotio where she was born and bred. Raised by a single mother, Cheboi and her younger sister struggled to make ends meet. 

"I was born into poverty. I grew up watching my dear mom work tirelessly to educate my sisters and I. She did all kinds of informal businesses from selling goats to selling vegetables. For as long as I can remember, she worked hard day in and day out but our life never changed," she previously stated. 

Cheboi turned to education as her silver lining. After working hard in school, she earned a scholarship to study Computer Science at Augustana College in Illinois, USA. 

Driven by the desire to succeed, Cheboi got a job through the work-study program, and in one year, she helped move her family out of the village. 

Further, she saved 80 percent of her income from various campus jobs and invested it in setting up a school in Kenya, Zawadi. 

"I can’t exactly point at what inspired me, I just knew this was something I had to do. What keeps me going now, is I see how little investment it takes to empower people."

Shortly after setting up the school is when Cheboi launched Techlit Africa. She noted that her biggest expense is importing the recycled computer parts into Kenya. 

"Once in the country, we have programs preparing kids for the digital economy. With these skills, they could be working remotely for tech companies all over the world straight from the village."

She noted that her ambition is to enable rural Africans to have the technical skills to easily make money online.

TechLit Africa CEO Nelly Cheboi poses for a photo at Augustana College in Illinois, USA.
TechLit Africa CEO Nelly Cheboi poses for a photo at Augustana College in Illinois, USA.
Zawadiafrica.org