The Kayode Alabi Leadership and Career Initiative (KLCI) has been selected for the inaugural Amazon Web Services (AWS) Education Equity Initiative, receiving $51,000 (₦75 million) in cloud credits to power the launch of Rafiki AI—Africa’s first generative AI career advisor tailored for underserved and displaced young people.
Rafiki AI is a WhatsApp-based solution designed to help young people create a personalized career pathway plan in just one to two minutes, with the ability to maintain interactive conversations for up to 24 hours. “Rafiki,” which means “friend” in Swahili, offers a fun and engaging multilingual experience, making career guidance more accessible than ever.
Hammed Kayode Alabi, Founder and CEO of KLCI, emphasized the transformative potential of the platform, stating, “One of the first users during our testing phase described Rafiki in three words: ‘Personalisation, Accessibility, Intimacy.’ With the potential to serve 100 million underserved young people across Africa, we are excited to witness its impact—starting in Nigeria and expanding across the continent.”
The idea for Rafiki AI has been in development since 2017, when KLCI began offering career counselling and guidance to young people in underserved Nigerian communities.
To better assist youth in defining their career paths, KLCI developed the ISLP Model (Interest, Strength, Limitation, Purpose), which helps individuals discover career opportunities through structured assessments.
This model was further expanded in the co-authored book, “Career Wisdom: Ideas to Kickstart Your Career,” written by Alabi and Abiodun Ajayi.
With the rise of generative AI, KLCI recognized the opportunity to adapt this framework into an AI-powered career advisor, enabling young people to access career support through their smartphones, eliminating the cost and accessibility barriers often associated with traditional career counselling services.
“Many underserved and displaced youth lack access to career counselling, making workforce transitions difficult and limiting employment opportunities. Rafiki AI is designed to bridge this gap,” Alabi explained.
In addition to supporting Rafiki AI, the AWS Education Equity Initiative cloud credits will also be used to scale Skill2Rural.org, KLCI’s first digital product, which provides mobile courseware designed to equip young people in underserved African communities with life skills and 21st-century competencies essential for workforce readiness.
Currently, Skill2Rural.org supports 215 educators, who are mentoring and reaching over 126,500 underserved young people across Nigeria and Africa.
Additionally, 185 students have enrolled in courses covering a wide range of topics, including storytelling, money management, and vision boarding.
With this significant milestone, KLCI continues to drive innovation in education, workforce development, and technology inclusion for Africa’s next generation.
The initiative is a step forward in ensuring that young people, regardless of their circumstances, have access to the tools and support they need to build fulfilling careers and meaningful livelihoods.
