“Over time, my salary has increased nearly 70 times.”

In this focus-group discussion, three Digital Divide Data alumni shared stories of unlikely paths to tech careers. All three came from circumstances where university seemed impossible without DDD's work-study model. Samuel moved to Nairobi at 13 and eventually convinced his teachers to let him sleep in his classroom, hiding bedding on the roof during the day and surviving on leftover lunch scraps. When DDD called him for an interview in 2012, he'd never touched a computer and typed two words per minute. They sent him to practice for six weeks, and though he only reached 20 words per minute—half their target—they saw his determination and brought him in. Emmelda worked as a house helper and remittance agent after high school before joining DDD in 2011, earning enough to help pay rent for her mother's iron-sheet house in Mathare and keep her siblings in school. Fredrick scored one point below university admission, spent time growing French beans on his family farm, and typed only four words per minute at his DDD interview. An HR officer paid for him to practice at a cyber café until he qualified. 

They took different paths after earning degrefrdes at Kenyatta University. Fredrick stayed at DDD for 14 years, rising from Data Management Operator to Senior Operations Manager, setting up operations centers in Tanzania and Nigeria. Samuel helped launch DDD's Education Committee to balance exam schedules with business operations, became a certified HR practitioner, and now manages HR at SALIX. Emmelda spent five years at DDD before joining Samasource Kenya nine years ago, where she's now a Senior Lead overseeing team leaders and project managers. "You must work hard. Nothing is handed to you on a silver platter," Fredrick says. "Patience is equally important." All three credited DDD with transforming their families—Samuel became the first in his family to graduate beyond high school, Emmeldah got all her siblings through Form Four, and Fredrick noted that more than ten DDD-trained professionals now work at high engineering levels in Kenya's tech industry. Their advice: create stronger placement partnerships, align training with rapidly evolving AI and customer service needs, and expand the alumni welfare program that now provides insurance support and shares job opportunities across the network.