TakenoLAB is an ICT academy and a tech hub built to benefit underprivileged communities in Africa through ICT. Burundian refugee Remy Gakwaya founded it in Dzaleka Refugee Camp as a means of helping refugees and host community.
takenoLAB was founded in 2015 to take on the challenges of huge gap in ICT for both the Malawian and Refugee communities. Refugees and host community members join forces to run takenoLAB. More than 2000 people have been helped by the school to gain skills in computer programming, entrepreneurship, and finding jobs at different companies, such as MyBucks.
At TakenoLAB, technological education is combined with a leadership development, where people are trained to become better leaders for the advancement of the community. The community has also served as a focal point for bringing together people of diverse cultural backgrounds who are working toward the same improvements
The courses at takenoLAB are provided for free, which
allows everyone from different cultural backgrounds to attend. We at takenoLAB
are open to both refugees and Malawians who want to advance their knowledge of
technology and business.
The purpose of takenoLAB is to encourage youth that
there is hope for their future, regardless of their lack of prior familiarity
with technology. takenoLAB centers on empowering women to start their own
businesses and advance their careers in technology.
Additionally, young people
who have dropped out of school as a result of different challenges in their
lives and lost hope of having a significant impact on their lives and their
communities are being given another chance to change their lives and the
community through entrepreneurship and technology.
