From Zero to AI-Powered Apps: Inside McTaba's Full-Stack & AI Engineering Course

The Full-Stack Software & AI Engineering course is the self-paced version of the McTaba marathon curriculum. It covers the same technical ground, packaged as video lessons, written guides, and project assignments you complete on your own timeline.

The scope runs from "I have never written a line of code" to "I can build and deploy an AI-powered web application with M-Pesa payments." That is a wide range, and 16 weeks of material reflects it. Here is what each phase covers.

Phase 1: Web fundamentals

HTML, CSS, and JavaScript from scratch. You learn how the web works, how to structure pages, how to style them, and how to make them interactive. By the end of this phase, you can build and deploy a complete static website. This is the foundation everything else sits on, and rushing through it is the single most common mistake self-taught developers make.

Phase 2: Frontend development with React

Component-based thinking, state management, routing, and building real user interfaces. React is the frontend framework most Kenyan tech companies use, and it is what you will see in the majority of job postings. You build several progressively complex applications during this phase.

Phase 3: Backend, databases, and APIs

Node.js, Express, PostgreSQL, and REST API design. You learn to build servers, design database schemas, handle authentication, and connect your frontend to your backend. This is where you go from "I can build pages" to "I can build products."

Phase 4: The African Stack

M-Pesa Daraja API integration (STK Push, C2B, B2C), WhatsApp Business API automation, and mobile-first design for low-bandwidth environments. This phase is what separates the McTaba curriculum from generic online courses. You build payment flows that actually process transactions and messaging systems that send real notifications. If you plan to work in the Kenyan or East African tech market, these skills give you an immediate advantage over candidates who only learned from Silicon Valley tutorials.

Phase 5: AI and LLM engineering

Integrating large language models into web applications. Prompt engineering, API-based AI features, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and building chatbots and document analysis tools. You also learn to use AI coding assistants like Cursor and Claude to accelerate your own development workflow. AI is not a separate career track here. It is a layer you add on top of your full-stack skills.

Phase 6: Deployment and going live

Getting your applications off localhost and onto the internet. Vercel for frontend deployments, Railway or VPS hosting for backends, custom domains, SSL, and basic CI/CD. Every project you build during the course should end up with a live URL you can share.

Here is a more detailed look at what you will build and learn across the 16 weeks of material. These are not rigid weekly deadlines since the course is self-paced. Think of them as content milestones.

Weeks 1 to 3: Foundations

• How the internet works: DNS, HTTP, client-server architecture
• HTML5 semantic markup and accessibility basics
• CSS layout: Flexbox, Grid, responsive design
• JavaScript fundamentals: variables, functions, arrays, objects, DOM manipulation
• Version control with Git and GitHub
• Project: A responsive personal portfolio site, deployed live

Weeks 4 to 6: JavaScript deep dive and React

• ES6+ features, async/await, fetch API
• TypeScript fundamentals
• React: components, props, state, hooks, routing
• Consuming REST APIs from the frontend
• Project: A dynamic React application that fetches and displays data from a public API

Weeks 7 to 9: Backend development

• Node.js and Express server setup
• REST API design: routes, controllers, middleware
• PostgreSQL: schema design, queries, joins, migrations
• Authentication: JWT, session management, password hashing
• Project: A full-stack CRUD application with user authentication

Weeks 10 to 12: The African Stack

• M-Pesa Daraja API: sandbox setup, STK Push, C2B callbacks, B2C disbursement
• WhatsApp Business API: sending messages, receiving webhooks, building conversation flows
• Mobile-first, low-bandwidth design patterns
• Project: An e-commerce application with M-Pesa checkout and WhatsApp order notifications

Weeks 13 to 15: AI/LLM engineering

• Working with LLM APIs (OpenAI, Anthropic Claude)
• Prompt engineering for production applications
• Building RAG systems: document ingestion, vector embeddings, semantic search
• AI-powered chatbots and document analysis tools
• Project: An AI-powered application (e.g., a customer support bot with RAG, or an intelligent document assistant)

Week 16: Deployment, polish, and portfolio

• Deploying to Vercel, Railway, or a VPS
• Custom domains, SSL certificates, environment variables
• Portfolio presentation: READMEs, live demos, GitHub profile optimisation
• Outcome: All projects deployed with live URLs, portfolio ready to share with employers

This course exists because the 6-month live marathon does not work for everyone. Some people have full-time jobs. Some live outside Nairobi or outside Kenya. Some prefer studying at 11 PM after the kids are asleep. The self-paced format solves the scheduling problem while keeping the same curriculum.

This course is a good fit if you:

• Want to become a full-stack developer but cannot commit to a full-time, 6-month live programme
• Have a full-time job, freelance work, or family responsibilities that prevent you from studying on a fixed schedule
• Live outside Nairobi (or outside Kenya) and want Africa-specific developer training without relocating
• Are a self-disciplined learner who can set your own deadlines and stick to them
• Already have some coding basics and want a structured path to full-stack and AI skills
• Want to add M-Pesa, WhatsApp, and AI integration to an existing skill set

This course is probably not the right choice if you:

• Need external accountability to stay consistent. Self-paced means nobody notices when you skip a week. If you know this about yourself, the live bootcamp is a better investment.
• Want daily mentor access and code reviews. The course includes recorded instruction and project briefs, but not the live mentorship sessions that come with the marathon.
• Can actually commit full-time for 6 months. If your schedule allows it, the bootcamp gives you more support for less money (KES 100,000 vs. KES 120,000). The extra cost of the self-paced course reflects the production and infrastructure of delivering recorded, on-demand content with lifetime access.

A common path we see: someone starts with the self-paced course, gets through the first few phases, realises they want the structure and intensity of the live cohort, and switches to the next marathon intake. We are happy to help with that transition if it happens.

We offer both formats because they serve different people. Here is an honest comparison so you can pick the one that fits your situation.

	Self-Paced Course	Live Bootcamp (Marathon)
Price	KES 120,000	KES 100,000
Duration	16 weeks of material, lifetime access	6 months, fixed schedule
Format	Video lessons + project assignments	Live instruction, daily building, cohort-based
Schedule	Completely flexible	Full-time, 40+ hours/week
Mentorship	Self-directed, with course community	Daily mentor access, live code reviews
Accountability	You set your own pace	Cohort pressure, deadlines, attendance
Curriculum	Same technical content	Same technical content + deeper project iteration
Projects	6+ guided projects	8+ projects with live mentor feedback
Career support	Portfolio-ready projects	Mock interviews, CV reviews, employer network
Best for	Working professionals, remote learners, self-starters	Full-time learners who want maximum structure

The technical curriculum is the same. Both formats teach React, Node.js, PostgreSQL, M-Pesa, WhatsApp, and AI engineering. The difference is in delivery and support.

The bootcamp costs KES 20,000 less because the delivery model is more efficient for us: one instructor, one cohort, real-time. The self-paced course requires professionally recorded and edited content, a platform to host it, and ongoing maintenance as technologies change. That is where the price difference comes from.

The bootcamp gives you 10 more weeks because those weeks include extended project iteration, career preparation, and capstone work that benefits from live feedback. The self-paced course compresses the core technical content into 16 weeks of material. You may spend more or less calendar time on it depending on your schedule.

If you are genuinely torn: ask yourself how you performed in past self-study attempts. If you have a track record of finishing online courses, the self-paced format will work. If your Udemy library is full of courses stuck at 15% completion, the bootcamp's external accountability is worth more than the flexibility you think you want.

The course starts from zero. No prior coding experience is required. That said, you do need a few things to get the most out of it:

• A working laptop. Windows, Mac, or Linux all work. A Chromebook will cause problems with some development tools. Your machine should be able to run VS Code and a web browser simultaneously without freezing.
• Reliable internet access. You will be streaming video content, downloading software tools, and deploying to cloud services. Intermittent connections will slow you down significantly. If your internet is unreliable, consider working from a co-working space or library when possible.
• Basic computer literacy. You should know how to install software, manage files, and use a web browser confidently. If terms like "download," "folder," and "browser tab" feel unfamiliar, start with our Tech Foundations: Before You Code course (KES 2,999) first.
• English reading comprehension. Course materials, documentation, and the broader developer ecosystem are primarily in English. You do not need perfect English, but you need to read and understand technical instructions.
• Time commitment. The 16 weeks of material assumes roughly 15 to 25 hours per week of study and project work. You can spread it out over more calendar weeks if needed, but spreading it too thin (say, 3 hours per week) risks losing context between sessions.

If you are unsure whether you are ready, start with Tech Foundations: Before You Code. It costs KES 2,999, takes a weekend, and gives you a realistic preview of what learning to code actually feels like. Better to spend that small amount testing your interest than to commit KES 120,000 and discover it is not for you.

Enrolment is straightforward. No application process, no interviews, no waiting for a cohort start date.

1. Go to the course page on McTaba Academy.
2. Pay KES 120,000 via M-Pesa or card.
3. You get immediate access to all course materials.
4. Start with Phase 1 and work through at your own pace.

You receive lifetime access to the course content, including any future updates as we revise the curriculum. When we update a module (for example, when a new version of React or a new AI model changes best practices), the updated content becomes available to all existing students automatically.

If you have questions before enrolling, reach out via WhatsApp or through the contact form on mctaba.com. We are happy to help you figure out whether the self-paced course, the bootcamp, or one of the smaller Academy courses is the right starting point for your situation.