The digital economy is opening up at a very high rate both in the country and globally and bringing opportunities with it. Take the Ajira Digital program for example – a program that seeks to empower over one million young people through training so that they can get employment through the various digital platforms such as essay writing, transcribing, research etc.
There are many success stories to the program, and today we would like hear the story of one of them. Her name is Crystal Grace and here is her Ajira success story.
What is your name and what do you do?
My name is Norman Crystal Grace. I am a fourth-year student at JKUAT taking Bachelor of Science in Strategic Management. I am the third born in a family of four. During the Covid-19 period, our country was in lockdown. This situation became a bit challenging because business sales were going down tremendously and some businesses shut down. At the beginning of June 2020, I came across the Ajira digital program in a Whats App group. I looked at it and it wasn’t love at first sight because I wasn’t sure whether it was a real program or a scam. It was just too good to be true. I mean, who offers training for two days and 5 weeks mentorship for free? Hehe, Ajira does that. So I just saved the post just in case and continued searching for any other business opportunity.
What business do you do online and how has Ajira Digital helped you with it?
In August 2020, I partnered with Forever Living Products to retail their Aloe Vera products and earn profits as well as getting bonuses at the end of the month. Apart from loving the business opportunity with Forever Living Products, I loved their amazing products too. I managed to contact my offline market until I realized later that I needed to now start posting on Facebook and Instagram to reach my online market too since my offline market was quite disappointing. Immediately I decided to now sign up for Ajira Program. I got trained and mentored for 5 weeks on Digital Marketing. Through the Digital Marketing training, I successfully ran an ad on Facebook and as a result of the training I made sales of over 60,000 in less than a month hence hitting a major business goal and I was promoted to an assistant supervisor in Forever Living Products Company on 11th November 2020. This was a huge success in the business.
Since then I have managed to make a lot of sales by creating content daily on Facebook and Instagram and growing my page organically. All these are lessons I learned from the 5week digital Marketing mentorship program. I later did a course with Coursera on Fundamentals of Social Media Marketing which helped me gain more knowledge about Social Media Management. I also managed to secure an attachment at the National Museum of Kenya Marketing department for two months because of my skills. In the first week of May 2021, I got another job as a Social Media Manager, Digital Marketer, and Content creator of a Cosmetics and Salon Business that has several branches. I successfully improved their pages and increases their following organically in a short span.
What digital services are you using in your work?
I went ahead to register for another Digital Marketing Course with Ajira with a specific goal of getting an understanding of how to create websites and how to do graphic designing. After the successful training, I managed to create a website for an automotive business with word press and hosted the website successfully online. I have also managed to create several designs with Canva that have been used a posters or flyers. Since I masters all the aspects in digital marketing and related tasks, I again decided to register for another course in Ajira called Virtual Assistant. After completion of the program I successfully landed an online Job on upwork as a virtual marketing coordinator of a real estate company in Florida, United States on 15th July 2021. I share roles in facebook marketing, responding to emails and generating buyer leads and contractor leads across their social media platforms. A ripple effect occurred since after sharing with a friend about what work I do online, he gave out my number to a real estate company that was looking for an Advertising Manager. So after a conversation with him, he appointed me as his Marketing and Advertising Manager on 5th August.
What do you love most about Ajira?
What I love most about Ajira is the amazing mentorship program. They have chosen professionals to share knowledge with the youths who are eager to learn about Digital Marketing or any other online work. The classrooms are very interactive and you get to learn quite a lot. They say that Kenyans don’t keep time, but Ajira has proven to be the best timekeepers during the sessions. The sessions would start at exactly 8 am and run smoothly during the entire session.
How has Ajira come through for you economically?
My best moment was getting to buy myself a brand new phone as a result of making some good money online in January 2021, I pay rent without straining and also paying for my driving school beginning of 1st October 2021. Currently, I enjoy having multiple streams of income from just using the smart phone and a laptop. I have also been able to support my sibling’s financial needs when required. Indeed, Online work gives you time and financial freedom.
What would you say to the youth out there who would like career directions?
To the youth out there, be willing to develop a set of skills that you can mold and apply in any situation you encounter, any job you might have, or any crisis you might confront. Step out of your comfort zone. Be very open-minded. If you are worried about where to start, freight not! Ajira is here for you. Book your classes today. See you at the top!
