Tanzania Tech: Voluntary IT training in Dar es Salaam

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In Tanzania, a former Google worker is bringing tech training to locals. Following a decade working for multinational tech companies, American software engineer Levi Weintraub quit his job and took to the road. After riding his motorbike through 46 US states and across 27 countries, he ended up in Tanzania. There, he's set up an IT training program. CGTN's Daniel Kijo has more.

This man is no ordinary biker. Levi Weintraub left a job Google and a life of luxury in the United States, sold everything he had, and hit the road. Before arriving in Tanzania he had travelled through 9 countries in Africa by motorbike. And although visually rewarding, he says the trip almost killed him - when he came off his wheels in Namibia.

LEVI WEINTRAUB SOFTWARE ENGINEER "Here I was, on the side of the road, in the middle of nowhere in the mountains. With, I knew I had at least one broken bone. But it was the most painful experience of my life. I mean three and a half hours. After an hour the adrenaline wears off. And it's just unbelievable pain."

After being saved by villagers, Levi got back on his bike. And upcoming software developers in Tanzania will be pleased he kept going, as Levi is now putting his knowledge and experience to good use.

LEVI WEINTRAUB SOFTWARE ENGINEER "Build more of a technology hub in Dar because that provides great jobs and economic development. That's where i see myself being most the useful while I'm here. Is trying to foster that."

Levi says his passion is mentoring but he also enjoys cultural interaction. Now he's using both skills to teach coding at this innovation hub.

DANIEL KIJO DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA "Before moving on to another country. Levi is planting seeds of programming knowledge that will grow and help hundreds long after he is gone."

Tanzania is in its infancy when it comes to software engineering. Although there has been rising interest, most young developers lack access to top level training.

HARVEY KADIANJI SOFTWARE DEVELOPER "What we were missing here is having a veteran, an industry veteran to channel what we are supposed to do rather than try different set of things. So having someone like Levi would be really really helpful."

Experts say Africa is on the verge of a huge technological breakthrough. So as Levi continues his travels across the continent, learning about different cultures, he hopes to make further inroads towards bridging the IT knowledge gap. Daniel kijo, CGTN, Dar es salaam, Tanzania.