On 29 January 2026, the Atlas Foundation officially launched the second Atlas Digi Bus – now rebranded as the Atlas Digi-AI Bus – marking an important milestone in expanding access to digital education in Kenya.
Designed as a mobile digital learning and innovation lab, the Digi-AI Bus will bring essential digital skills directly to schools and underserved communities across Nairobi. The initiative is led by our local partner Kings Rugby Development Academy (KRDA) in collaboration with Code Yetu, with the support of The Atlas Foundation.
Addressing Deep-Rooted Challenges Through Education
Operating in Nairobi, the Digi-AI Bus is closely aligned with KRDA’s long-standing mission to uplift young people out of hopeless poverty and help them recognise their individual worth and potential. Many of the programme’s beneficiaries live in Kibera, Africa’s largest slum, where access to basic services such as clean water, electricity, and sanitation remains limited, making it a desperately tough place to grow up.
Kenya continues to face challenges in foundational literacy, numeracy, and STEM education. Large numbers of students complete primary school without achieving age-appropriate mathematical competence, limiting their progression into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics pathways. At the same time, youth unemployment remains high, while the national economy is rapidly digitising. Digital skills are now essential for employability, entrepreneurship, and long-term economic resilience. The Digi-AI Bus initiative has been designed specifically to respond to these intersecting challenges.
Transforming Lives Through Digital Skills
By delivering digital education directly into underserved communities, the Digi-AI Bus removes key barriers to access and creates meaningful learning opportunities for young people who would otherwise be left behind.
Each week, the bus will reach approximately 760 students, delivering multiple 90-minute classes each day to groups of 38+ students per session, across school communities that don’t otherwise have access to computer labs.
The curriculum includes lessons in literacy, digital safety, coding and programming, artificial intelligence, and robotics – preparing Kenya’s youth for a digital future and equipping students with practical, job-ready skills that support their long-term economic resilience.
Beyond individual learning outcomes, the programme contributes to wider community development by strengthening social cohesion, expanding economic opportunity, and investing in Kenya’s long-term prosperity and stability.
Young people without digital literacy aren’t just missing one skill; they’re locked out of the fastest-growing job sectors, from fintech to e-commerce to AI-driven industries that will help define Kenya’s economy for the next decade.
Our mission is to use rugby as a tool to help get our young players a foot in the doorway to better schools. However, rugby alone doesn’t give our young people places in schools. Grades do.
A Landmark Launch Event
James McGreevy, CEO of KRDA, opened the event by tracing the organisation’s 25-year journey within Nairobi communities – from feeding programmes and education initiatives to rugby development and scholarship pathways – positioning digital skills as the next critical step in empowering young people for the future.
The Digi-AI Bus was officially launched on Thursday, 29 January 2026, marking KRDA’s expansion into digital education as a core part of its educational commitments. The event brought together representatives from government, private industry, long-standing KRDA supporters, strategic education partners, and 38 pupils from three pilot schools participating in the Digi-AI Bus programme.
Asha, Founder of Code Yetu, emphasised the urgency of closing the digital accessibility gap, highlighting how the Digi-AI Bus will serve communities with little to no digital infrastructure.
Additional guests included representatives from Konza City, Nairobi City County, and Kiambu County, underscoring broad cross-sector support for the initiative.
Investing In The Future
The launch of the Digi-AI Bus represents more than a new vehicle – it symbolises a commitment to inclusive growth, innovation, and opportunity. By intersecting sport, education and technology, the initiative supports Kenya’s Digi-AI 2030 vision and reinforces a shared belief that investing in young people is essential to national development.
Through the Digi-AI Bus, digital education is no longer confined to classrooms with fixed infrastructure. Instead, it travels directly to the communities that need it most, unlocking potential, expanding horizons, and shaping a more inclusive digital future for Kenya.
