“If I go, someone else will replace me, and that will help them as well to reach a place that I have.”

Imelda Akoya grew up in Nairobi's Pangani area with five siblings and university dreams, but her parents couldn’t afford the fees. A friend told her that Digital Divide Data offered work and the possibility of scholarships. At her interview in 2014, she failed the typing test, managing only 16 words per minute. But after she practiced, DDD brought her in for training on the Ancestry project, learning to read handwriting from the 1700s and 1800s. "I came here with no knowledge of work at all," she says.

She started as a data entry clerk, moved to data validation, and enrolled at Kenyatta University to study hospitality and tourism management through DDD's work-study program. She graduated in 2019 but couldn't complete her internship when COVID-19 devastated the tourism industry, so she pivoted to project management. She now oversees projects at DDD and plans to pursue a PMP certification. The income helped her pay high school fees for her siblings. She's seen some associates drop out, unable to balance work and school, but many more who had a drive to succeed. DDD alumni stay connected through two WhatsApp groups: one for sharing careers and opportunities, another for welfare support when someone loses a loved one. She's ready to explore opportunities outside DDD eventually, because she wants to grow and give someone else the chance to reach where she has.