Tech Challenge Kenya 2025. Photo from The Tech Interactive
Nearly 5,000 students from more than 1,000 schools across Kenya are taking part in Tech Challenge Kenya 2025, an engineering design program that encourages young learners to solve real-world problems in their communities.
The initiative, led by Silicon Valley’s Tech Interactive, has expanded its reach this year with back-to-back showcases in Kisumu and Nakuru, doubling participation from last year.
Since 1986, The Tech Challenge has inspired students in Silicon Valley to tackle practical problems through hands-on engineering.
In 2023, the program launched in Kenya with 750 students. Participation grew to 2,700 in 2024, and this year’s expansion signals both growing interest and the potential of scalable, community-focused innovation education.
“In the face of shrinking global aid, The Tech remains committed to expanding opportunity where it’s needed most,” Katrina Stevens said, president and CEO of The Tech Interactive.
“This year’s Challenge reflects our belief that innovation knows no borders and that every student deserves the chance to become a problem-solver.”
Building local capacity in stem
The Kenyan iteration is designed to be locally owned and sustained. A train-the-trainer model equips teachers with engineering design-based learning skills through remote courses led by The Tech Interactive.
Teachers then mentor their peers, creating a ripple effect across classrooms and communities.
According to The Tech Interactive, the network of trained teachers has strengthened STEAM instruction for over 19,000 educators and benefited more than 568,000 students across Kenya.
“Only about 16 per cent of secondary school students in Kenya take up science, technology, engineering, and mathematics subjects, and fewer than 30 per cent of these students are female,” the Ministry of Education said.
“In rural areas, roughly 60 per cent of schools lack fully equipped science laboratories,” the World Bank, 2021, noted.
By training teachers and providing practical engineering experiences, Tech Challenge Kenya addresses these gaps and offers students a pathway to careers in STEM.
“This kind of learning, hands-on, high-stakes, and human-centered, is what’s needed to create sustainable change,” Shikoh Gitau said, CEO of Qhala and international board member of The Tech Interactive.
“As Africa becomes the world’s next innovation engine, programs like this empower young learners to contribute solutions to urgent problems.”
Drop & Dash: Solving real-world challenges
This year’s challenge, named Drop & Dash, responds to a tangible problem in Turkana County, where prolonged droughts have left many communities reliant on emergency supply drops by planes and drones.
These deliveries often fail to reach remote or hard-to-access areas. Student teams are tasked with designing devices that can survive a drop and deliver supplies to a designated target area without using batteries.
Over several months, they collaborate to design, test, and refine their solutions, documenting every stage of the process.
“This challenge is more than an engineering task, it’s a way to empower students to think critically and creatively about ways to address real challenges facing their communities,” Shital Patel said, Director of Kenya Expansion at The Tech Interactive.
“We’re seeing future engineers, entrepreneurs and leaders emerge through this process.”
“Students who participate in practical STEM programs are 50 per cent more likely to pursue tertiary STEM education,” the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, 2020, said.
UNESCO said that peer-to-peer mentorship models, such as the one employed by Tech Challenge Kenya, have been shown to increase student engagement in STEM by up to 30 per cent.
Showcasing innovation and community impact
The two-day public showcases provide an opportunity for students to present their projects to volunteer judges, including engineers, educators, and industry leaders.
Their sponsors included Kenafric, SBM Bank, Gearbox, IX Data Centre, and Tropical Heat.
Judging organizations included Lish AI Labs, Mastercard Foundation, Microsoft, Moringa School, Save the Children International, Médecins Sans Frontières, Zone01, Zipline, Qhala, Kabarak University, and Loho Learning.
In Kisumu, the first showcase for 4th–6th grade, 7th–9th grade, and Form 2–Form 4 divisions took place on July 5 and July 6.
Nakuru hosted the second set of showcases on July 12 and July 13, following the same division structure. More than 800 teams were expected to present their designs.
“About 70 per cent of young Kenyans aged 15–24 are interested in entrepreneurship or technology-based solutions,” the Kenya National Youth Survey, 2022 said.
“Yet over 60 per cent of youth report lacking practical problem-solving and teamwork skills,” the Kenya Employers Federation, 2021, said.
Bridging gaps in opportunity
Technology access in Kenya has grown rapidly, with over 90 per cent of the population owning a mobile phone, according to the Communications Authority of Kenya, 2023.
This creates opportunities for digital learning and remote mentorship, even in areas where internet coverage is limited.
“Only about 45 per cent of rural households have reliable internet access,” the World Bank, 2022, said.
This means, offline problem-solving programs remain critical for bridging opportunity gaps.
“Innovation education is not just about building robots or gadgets, it’s about teaching students to identify problems and create solutions that make life better,” Gitau said.
“The Tech Challenge Kenya allows students to step into the role of changemakers in their communities.”
As Kenya continues to face environmental challenges, including drought, food insecurity, and infrastructural gaps, programs like Tech Challenge Kenya show how education can be a tool for resilience.
Students leave the program equipped not only with technical skills but also with creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration skills.
About the tech challenge in Kenya
Tech Challenge Kenya is part of The Tech Interactive’s flagship program that has been inspiring students since 1986 to solve real-world problems through engineering design.
The initiative equips students with practical skills in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) while fostering teamwork, critical thinking, and creativity.
Since its international debut in Kenya in 2023, the program has grown rapidly, reaching 750 students in its first year and 2,700 in 2024.
This year, nearly 5,000 students from over 1,000 schools are participating.
Through hands-on challenges, students learn to design, test, and refine solutions to pressing local problems, such as drought relief and sustainable delivery systems.
The program employs a train-the-trainer model where teachers are first trained remotely by The Tech Interactive, then mentor their peers, ensuring that innovation education is locally owned and sustained.
