Photograph — Medium

What if you can study the course of your dreams at no upfront cost? Okay, maybe not the course of your dreams, but what if you are offered the chance to launch a new thriving career by learning something new through an immersive training program at no upfront cost? 

This what Nigerian payment company, Paystack and California-based Lambda School are offering Africans in Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa with Lambda’s launch on the continent. The partnership will provide a world-class full stack developer education – at no upfront cost – to 10 candidates from the aforementioned countries. 

During the program, students will be provided with co-work spaces wherever they are so that they have access to reliable power and internet. After the program, Lambda graduates have the chance to be hired by Paystack and other participating companies like Cowrywise, PiggyVest and BuyCoins. 

Once hired, Lambda graduates will pay back 10 percent of their salary for five years but only if they earn more than $15000 annually. Another option is that the companies that employ them, pay off their tuition debt. Interestingly, both options are great as the school has a growing list of companies that will do just that. Also, 86 percent of Lambda graduates are hired within 180 days of completing the program.  

Lambda School

Lambda School is a nine-month immersive online training program at no upfront cost for people who want to be software engineers. Students have the option to opt in to an Income Share Agreement where they pay a fraction of future income. Beyond immersive tutoring and mentorship, Lambda helps their students find jobs, prepare for interviews, and also negotiate great starting salaries

The school’s curriculum is designed and taught by instructors from some of the best technology companies globally like Google, Apple and Blizzard. Students are taught to program in several languages including JavaScript, Python and C. They are also taught to understand computing from its most fundamental levels.

Lambda School launched about two years ago in the US, and recently opened its doors to students from Europe, and now Africa, in partnership with Paystack. Applications were open for the first time to students in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire and South Africa from the month of April up until last week.

For now, it is closed until a new session, but it is no doubt a brilliant partnership that promises life-changing opportunities, which is what both companies are about – amplifying human potential by equipping people with the tools needed to build their dreams. 

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