The KENYA Airlift Program seeks to help brilliant Kenyans achieve that dream of studying in USA regardless of their financial background. We only accommodate ambitious, and incredibly
talented Kenyans who are willing to take a leap of faith in joining the tech industry in order to make their American dream a reality. One does not need to have an IT bachelor’s degree to
pursue an IT –related master’s course in USA through the program.
This award–winning program is trying to fix 3 major challenges Kenyan students face in their quest to study in America, namely:
• Acquiring funding.
• Finding well–paying Jobs after graduation.
• Acquiring permanent residency (green card) after graduation
KENYA AIRLIFT PROGRAMME: Acquiring Funding
In Kenya, currently there are no banks that offer international student loans for those wishing to study abroad. Through this program, we are trying to emulate a country like India that offers such loans to its citizens wishing to study abroad. We have taken it upon ourselves to find a way of funding Kenyans who wish to pursue Master’s in IT in USA. We have officially partnered with US-
based lender MPOWER Financing who offer unsecured international student loans to facilitate that, and we also formed The Airlift Sacco (TAS) to fund our beneficiaries with relocation expenses loans.
Additionally, Discover student loans are also available for students with cosigners who are US permanent residents and have a good credit history.
Finding well-paying Jobs after graduation. The US offers international students a chance to find Jobs in their field of study after graduation. Infact, every year the US government, issues about 85,000 temporary work visas (H-1B visa) to those
immigrants with the skills that Americans mostly don’t have.
For an international student to get this kind of work visa, and transition from a student visa, they must find an employer who is willing to sponsor them. This is where most Kenyan students in USA find hard to navigate. Majority of Kenyans who migrate to USA to study, are often not able to figure out how to find American employers willing to sponsor their work visas. Reason being, it’s
usually because majority of them do not have degrees and skills that are marketable enough for an American employer to sponsor them, or simply lack the information about how to find such
employers.
The KENYA Airlift Program is divided into 2 options based on the
student’s academic and financial ability: REGULAR and PARALLEL.
Students in the regular option are entitled to Airlift relocation loans
while those in parallel are not. Specific differences between the
two options are outlined in the succeeding sections in this
handbook.
KENYA AIRLIFT PROGRAMME QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS
**Note**We DO NOT accept work experience as a substitute for
academic qualifications.
Regular Option – To qualify for the regular option, one must have at least B plain mean grade in KCSE with a B plain in Math/Physics, and at least a strong second-class lower division (3.0 GPA) in an undergraduate in IT, Business, Management, Engineering, Applied Sciences, or Natural Sciences, and a GMAT/GRE GMAT/GRE score of 550 and 310 respectively.
Parallel Option- To qualify for the parallel option, one must have at least a C+ mean grade in KCSE and at least a second-class lower division (2.8 GPA) in an undergraduate in IT, Business, Management,Engineering, Applied Sciences, or Natural Sciences. One does not have to sit for GMAT/GRE in the parallel program but shall have to take care of all their relocation expenses as indicated in subsequent parts of this handbook.If you qualify and wish to join either program, follow the steps below.
ENROLMENT STEPS
STEP 1 Apply to The Program
• Visit www.kenyaairliftprogram.com and submit your application. Please note there is a non-refundable application fee of $10 that is paid at the time of submitting the application. You will receive a decision within 48 hours.
STEP 2
Making Relevant Program Contributions
• As part of your acceptance into the program, you will be sent a link to make payment for your contribution depending on your chosen option in kenya airlift programme:
➢ Qualified REGULAR students pay USD 100 SACCO non-refundable registration fees and choose and purchase the different packages available that entitle you to various relocation loan amounts as outlined on page 10 of this handbook. All
payments are made through our online system. Link to make payments will be sent to you once you have been accepted into the program. Please refer to the page 12 for financial implications of premature program withdrawal.
➢ Qualified PARALLEL students pay USD 100 SACCO non-refundable registration fees plus a non-refundable upfront fee of USD 1000 and a further USD 500 once a student visa is issued.
STEP 3 University Pre-enrolment
• For REGULAR students, after completing the first instalment payment, the onboarding process begins whereby you will be given access to the training portal which contains all the study materials for GMAT and GRE. GMAT training is MANDATORY for all regular
students once one has completed making full payments. We are also planning for the introduction of GRE training for those who choose that option. You are required to prepare for at least 3 months before taking the GMAT/GRE exams. Students will be
expected to score a minimum of 550 out of 800 in the GMAT or 310 in the GRE to proceed to the next step.
• PARALLEL students proceed straight to school enrolment without the GMAT/GRE prerequisite unless it is a requirement for their preferred course. Parallel students who wish to take GMAT can buy the GMAT training package for an additional fee of $150. This can
be done inside the student’s portal account.
STEP 4 University Enrolment
• After passing your GMAT we evaluate your undergraduate background and apply to the three universities that best fit your profile and needs. Our career advisory team will work
very closely with you to determine the best options for you in kenya airlift programme.
STEP 5 Applying for Funding
• Once accepted, we guide you on how to apply for graduate assistantships with the universities as well as apply for unsecured international student loans with our lenders MPOWER Financing (official partner) or Discover Student Loans. The loan and/or
graduate assistantship will enable you to pay for your graduate studies in USA.
STEP 6 – Visa Application and Coaching
• Once you get approved for funding, we request your I-20 from the school to seek student
visa.
• Upon processing of your I-20, we start the student visa application process and train you
on how to pass the student visa interview.
STEP 7 Relocation to the US
• Once your visa is approved, we start the process of relocating you to the USA.
• At the time of relocation, The Airlift Sacco (TAS) disburses your loan to take care of the relocation expenses in kenya airlift programme.
STEP 8 – Job Skills Training
• Once you relocate and join the university, we will train you on IT job skills as you pursue your master’s degree. These are amazing high-income skill sets that will equip you with the right job skills after graduation. Once you graduate, we will assist you with placement into well-paying IT jobs in USA. These are jobs that will enable you to repay your student loan comfortably and they will also come with employment-based work visa benefits
which will enable you to live and work in the United States long term.
KENYA AIRLIFT PROGRAMME HANDBOOK DOWNLOAD IS IN THE WEBSITE
