Over 7,000 youth benefit from Google-backed Ganjisha programme

More than 7,800 young Kenyans have acquired digital content creation and entrepreneurship skills through the Google-supported Ganjisha project, with an independent evaluation showing significant gains in participants' digital capabilities, confidence and earning potential.

The 18-month programme, implemented by the Africa Digital Media Institute (ADMI) and Digital Opportunity Trust (DOT) Kenya, attracted an investment of US$900,000 (approximately Ksh.116.4 million) and surpassed its target by training youth across all 47 counties.

Participants received practical training in photography, videography, graphic design, social media management, digital marketing, ethical content creation, financial literacy, personal branding and entrepreneurship, while gaining experience using industry-standard tools such as Canva, CapCut and AI-powered content creation platforms.

An independent endline evaluation found that the proportion of participants with intermediate and advanced digital content creation skills increased from 7 per cent at baseline to 85 per cent after training. The share of participants earning income from digital content creation also rose from 5 per cent to 28 per cent, while average monthly earnings increased from approximately Ksh.2,600 to Ksh.7,766.

ADMI Board Chairperson Dr. Laila Macharia said the project had demonstrated the potential of Kenya's creator economy when young people are equipped with the right skills.

"The Ganjisha project has demonstrated that when young people are equipped with the right digital and entrepreneurial skills, they can transform creativity into sustainable livelihoods. Kenya's creator economy holds immense potential, and our role is to ensure young creators have the skills and confidence to seize those opportunities."

She added that the programme's impact extended beyond training to helping participants build sustainable careers.

"The evaluation shows that participants are not only creating better content but are also earning more, launching businesses and building careers in the digital economy. This is the kind of impact that industry-led digital skills training can deliver."

Speaking during the programme's close-out event, Dr. Macharia said ADMI and its partners now intend to focus on tracking participants' long-term success.

"We intend to deepen this collaboration and scale not just in how many young people we train, but in keeping ourselves accountable for what happens to those young people after we train them. The share of Ganjisha participants earning from their content has risen from 5 per cent to 28 per cent, and from 2,000 to close to 8,000. This is the direction we want to push now that we have understood the model and how it works."

Google representative Michael Murigi said supporting initiatives such as Ganjisha aligns with the company's mission of helping communities thrive through digital opportunities.

"What's in it for Google is that Google is an organisation that succeeds when our users succeed. We succeed when users of our platforms grow, especially SMEs, and we also succeed when the communities in which we work are thriving. As a core mission of Google.org, we work to empower non-profit organisations to scale what they are doing."

According to the evaluation, more than 90 per cent of graduates continue to apply the skills acquired through the programme, with many supporting small businesses through digital marketing, mentoring other young people and building careers in Kenya's expanding digital economy.

The programme was delivered through partnerships with community-based organisations, government ICT hubs, TVET institutions, county governments and leading Kenyan content creators, complementing national initiatives including the Ajira Digital Programme and Kenya's Digital Economy Blueprint.

To sustain the gains made, ADMI and DOT Kenya have established a digital alumni engagement platform that will provide graduates with continued mentorship, networking opportunities, refresher learning resources and access to digital gig platforms.