Kenyan Students Win Historic Grand Prize at Huawei ICT Global Final
Kenya claims top honours in the Cloud Category for the first time in the competition's ten-year history, with additional wins across Network and Women in Tech categories.
Kenyan university students have delivered the country’s best-ever performance at the Huawei ICT Competition 2025-2026 Global Final, held in Shenzhen, China on 5 June 2026, securing a Grand Prize, a first prize, and a special award across three separate categories.
It is the first time Kenya has won the Grand Prize in the competition’s decade-long history.
This year’s edition was the largest in the competition’s history, drawing over 220,000 students and faculty members from more than 2,000 institutions across 100 countries. Of the 177 teams from 49 countries that reached the Global Final, 18 teams from eight countries were awarded the Grand Prize. Kenya was among them.
In the Cloud Category, Team Kenya claimed the Grand Prize. The four-member team comprised Kevin Tuei of Tharaka University, Catherine Atieno of Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Brian Ngugi Kamau of Mt. Kenya University, and Salem Kim of Machakos University.
Kenya’s Network Category team went further, winning first prize. Denzel Nzinga of Multimedia University of Kenya, Robert Wambua of Kenyatta University, and Joy Wairimu of The Cooperative University of Kenya represented the country in that category.
An all-female Kenyan team also took the Special Women in Tech Award in the Computing Category, finishing with a strong second prize. The team included Joan Nkatha, Melane Minayo, and Faith Mosonik, mentored by lecturer Esther Wairimu.
The awards ceremony drew diplomatic representatives from 11 countries. Huawei ICT Strategy and Business Development President Ritchie (Honghua) Peng used the occasion to announce new initiatives focused on AI and industry collaboration, and highlighted the competition’s broader role in applying technology to social and environmental challenges.
This year’s Global Final also featured the AI Accelerating Education Transformation Summit. Huawei introduced its ICT Academy AI Course Solution, aimed at scaling AI talent development within universities, and released a report on ICT skills development in Central Asia and the Caucasus.
The results reinforce Kenya’s position as East Africa’s leading technology talent hub. The Huawei ICT Competition, which focuses on AI, computing, big data, cloud, and cybersecurity, has become one of the most recognised student pipelines in the global technology industry. Kenya’s sweep across three categories in a single edition marks a significant step up from previous years.
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