Seven Kenyans are among 40 other African Young Leaders who were feted by Facebook in Accra, Ghana last week for making a positive change in their communities.
Most notable among the Kenyans recognized was James Odede, the founder of Lakehub, a Computer Science Graduate from Maseno University.
LakeHub is a 'growing and enthusiastic' community of techies, design experts, and entrepreneurs based in and around Kisumu. The facility has so far trained over 50 young people, most of them straight out of high school.
"Tech education is very expensive especially outside Nairobi. So our initiative is targeting those people who cannot afford to pay high fees charged for the tech training," Odede is quoted during the ceremony.
Also feted at the award ceremony was Asha Mweru, whose facebook page with over 3000 followers serves as a platform for young women entrepreneurs to share their business ideas and tips on how to grow their businesses.
Apart from sharing ideas and training young entrepreneurs, Asha's platform also enables followers to pool resources and raise capital that would enable a business venture to get on its feet.
Other Kenyans feted at the award included Paul Lorem, Samantha Mwenda, Sharlene Mule, and Carol Kariuki.
The two-day event brought together young leaders and entrepreneurs from sub-Saharan Africa who use Facebook as a platform to share their ideas and promote socio-economic change.
“I’m so proud that we’re bringing the first event of its kind for Facebook to the Continent and Ghana. At Facebook, we see our role as supporting and investing in various communities here on the continent, in particular, the youth," stated Kezia Anim-Addo, Facebook communication manager for Sub-Saharan Africa.
"This event is about celebrating those people, the amazing talent, innovation and businesses we’re seeing emerge, and the young people who are accelerating this growth, and building an incredible future for the Continent," she concluded.
Attendees were from 15 countries in the Sub-Saharan region including Ghana, Madagascar, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Senegal, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Botswana, DRC, South Africa, Cameroon, and Zambia.
