Multinational ICT firm Huawei will train 120 would-be network professionals affiliated to Kenya's Presidential Digital Talent Program (PDTP), which began in 2015.

The company says this is in addition to an initial group of 40 trainees, 10 of whom have received Huawei Certified Network Associate (HCNA) certification after completing experiential training at the company.

"The trainees will undergo intense two-day wireless technology training on LTE and WCDMA at the Huawei Training Centre (in Nairobi). At the end of the training the group will be able to understand the basic principle of LTE, air interfaces, LTE/EPC network architecture, Huawei eNodeB product family and applications, as well as basic operation about Huawei eNodeB among others," detailed the company in a statement.

Nyakundi Kevin, a beneficiary of the PDTP is grateful for Huawei's increased investment in the programme, which also enjoys the support of private sector players including MultiChoice, Google, HP, Oracle and ZTE, among others.

"The developed economies are currently onto 5G and as Kenya progresses towards upscaling from 4G, we need to be prepared," said Kevin.

Huawei believes the increase in the number of trainees at the company falls in line with the broadband transformation that has taken place within the country over the past few years – largely the result of four fibre optic submarine cables combined with increased network upgrades by key network service providers.

"(The) majority of the broadband connections are made via WCDMA/third generation 3G) mobile networks whilst also using the Long Term Evolution (LTE ) that has been growing rapidly countrywide since 2014 alongside the growth of mobile radio digital technologies," Huawei added.

The PDTP is implemented by Kenya's Ministry of Information, Communication and Technology (MoIC) through the ICT Authority, along with stakeholders in the private and public sectors.

100 participants from the first cohort graduated in January last year during a ceremony at the Kenya School of Government. That first PDTP class produced 29 innovations, five of which advanced to implementation stage including the Nyumba Kumi app which enhances security through real-time information and the Damu-Sasa app that helps to facilitate blood delivery services in hospitals.

The program has increased its intake to 400 recent ICT graduates.