Children in the technology laboratory. Image from Cynthia Ebot Takang. Used with permission
Across Cameroon, especially during summer holidays (end of July to beginning of September), a growing number of parents are enrolling their children in training programs focused on coding, robotics, and artificial intelligence. What started as a niche interest has evolved into a national shift, one that sees digital literacy not as a luxury but as a necessity.
As artificial intelligence and advanced technology begin to massively reshape the world, Africa faces the familiar risk of being left behind. Many African children still lack the opportunities to engage with technology early, deepening existing educational and economic gaps. But a shift is happening. In Cameroon, more and more parents are taking matters into their own hands, enrolling their children in AI and coding programs to make sure they don’t miss out on future opportunities.
When a four-year-old child stood before a room of parents, mentors, and friends in Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon, last year, few expected much beyond shy smiles. But what followed was a confident pitch of a group project, an interactive game that helps users choose healthy meals based on their age, health, and gender as part of a five-week AI boot camp for kids. The 2024 edition was organized by the Kitadis boot camp, which has continued for its 2025 edition this year.
The tool was inspired by the team leader’s own pregnant mother, who had struggled with meal planning. The project won “Demo Day” (the final presentation event of a five-week AI boot camp for kids), where they presented their ideas to their peers and teachers.
In a country where access to technology remains uneven and innovation is often seen as an adult’s domain, this moment proved that even the youngest Cameroonians can identify real-world problems and build tools to solve them.
The cusp of change
In Yaounde’s Ngoa-Ekelle (a neighborhood located in the centre of Yaounde), the Kitadis Centre is one of the hubs driving this change. By 9 am, a classroom fills with children aged four to thirteen, fingers dancing on keyboards, guided by two young trainers. The goal isn’t just to teach typing or PowerPoint; it’s to awaken creativity through technology.
The founder of the enterprise known as Star Light Inc., Mabu Celeb Njienyo, who runs the camp, believes tech education is key to raising a generation of solvers. He said :
Everyone complains, but few use technology to fix the problems we face.
The program costs FCFA 10,000 (USD 17) for registration and FCFA 20,000 (USD 33) for tuition, in a country where the minimum monthly wage is FCFA 43,969 per month (USD 79) for most workers in the formal sector outside of agriculture.
The program concludes with a “Demo Day” where students present their inventions to parents and a jury. Children work in teams, and the curriculum is structured so that by the end of the five weeks, even complete beginners can build something useful.“We follow up after camp by setting up tech clubs in their schools,” Njienyo added.
Just across town at another training Centre, BLIS Global Center in the Biyem-Assi Lac (neighborhood in the centre of Yaounde), the setup is more advanced. Kids arrive at 8 am, don white lab coats, and dive into activities like programming robots, designing with 3D printers, and building basic mechanical systems. Their workspace resembles a miniature lab, with cords, simulators, wheels, and computers scattered around workstations.
The technical director for coding and robotics at the centre, Che Emmanuel Anye, believes that teaching tech now is no longer optional. He said to Global Voices:
The language of tomorrow won’t be English or French, it’s technology.
BLIS Global’s three-year program begins at age six and gradually introduces children to hands-on tech: designing automatic dustbins, simulating electronic systems, and even creating early prototypes for commercial use. The annual fee is FCFA 100,000 (USD 167) and includes coding, robotics, and talent development. But what makes the program even more impactful is its commitment to inclusion for kids from diverse backgrounds. The founder and director of Sainte Rita Orphanage, Sister Balbine Lemana, sent ten children to the center this year through various sponsors.
This training has helped them see the value of technical education they used to ignore it. Now they love building things.
For her, programs like the one offered at BLIS Global prove that access to opportunity shouldn’t be determined by wealth. Across both centers, the transformation is visible. Children don’t just learn to use computers; they begin to imagine how they can shape the world with them. From wire circuits to game interfaces, they move from play to purpose.
Many of the kids enrolled at these centers and others around the country are opting to pursue more technical education. They say they are already aware of the good and bad sides of technology, but are ready to maximize the good side to help their community.
Some projects they have worked on include: a power bike prototype, an electronic walking stick for blind persons, and a self-functioning trash bin.
Cameroon’s National Pedagogic Inspector for computer sciences, Godson Muluh, supports this movement. A 2024 winner of the Google Gemini AI Competition, he believes tech education should begin as early as possible.
Holidays are a chance to catch up on other skills such as how to use technology. Most schools can’t teach digital skills in-depth during the school year. Starting early shapes career paths and builds tech confidence which is needed nowadays in all aspects of life.
He recalled that learning computer-related skills early on gave him a head start in secondary school, setting him apart from his peers.
You can do the bare minimum with AI and it’ll do the heavy lifting for you. The earlier children understand this, the better.
In classrooms once filled with chalk and dust, Cameroonian children are now learning to write code, program robots, and design tools that solve real problems. For some, like the boy who built a nutrition game for his mother, it’s already personal. For others, it’s the first step into a world where solutions are just a few clicks away.
