Binary Tree, a youth-led non-profit organization, has trained more than 1,100 students in digital skills across Africa and Asia, positioning itself as a grassroots player in the continent’s growing digital economy.
- •Founded by American programmer Keshav Balakrishna, the organization operates in Kenya, Tanzania, Senegal, Uganda, South Africa, and Thailand.
- •Its core program is a 10-week course that introduces students to programming, web development, and digital literacy.
- •Each session includes weekly lessons, assignments, and a capstone project, with students receiving certification upon completion.
More than 60 American high school students contribute to the organization’s efforts by designing curricula, running social media campaigns, and managing fundraising and partnership outreach. This model combines cross-cultural collaboration with practical workforce training for young people in regions where demand for digital skills is rising quickly.
Binary Tree has also hosted Excel workshops in Dodoma, led web development training for Ugandan high schoolers, and delivered lectures at Mbeya University of Science and Technology in Tanzania.
It has also developed web safety materials for refugee children in Thailand and partnered with AI-focused startups, including Sartify, to advocate for natural-language processing tools tailored to low-resource African languages.
The initiative highlights the growing importance of digital skills in Africa, where youth unemployment remains a major challenge even as internet access and technology adoption expand.
By pairing technical instruction with cultural exchange, Binary Tree aims to prepare a new generation of developers, engineers, and entrepreneurs equipped to compete in the digital workforce.
Graduates are encouraged to list the organization as a professional reference when applying for jobs, underscoring the group’s focus on employability.