Do I need to know any of these technologies before joining?

No. Phase 1 starts from scratch with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. The curriculum is designed so that complete beginners can follow along. If you already know some basics, you will move through Phase 1 faster and have more time to go deeper on the projects.

Why Next.js instead of just React?

React is covered first and used throughout the program. Next.js is introduced in Phase 3 because server-side rendering matters for SEO, performance on slow connections (common in African markets), and the kinds of e-commerce and business applications you are building. You learn both.

Is the AI engineering content up to date?

The AI curriculum focuses on applied skills (agents, RAG, context engineering, tool use) rather than specific libraries that change every month. We update the specific tools and frameworks each cohort to reflect what is current, but the core skills transfer regardless of which LLM provider or framework is popular at the moment.

Can I see a sample project or demo?

Live demos from current cohort projects will be available once the cohort ships. In the meantime, the project descriptions above reflect exactly what you will build. Each one is a real production application, not a simplified tutorial version.

What if I want to build something different for my capstone?

You can propose a custom capstone project instead of the African SME OS, as long as it demonstrates the same range of skills: full-stack architecture, payment integration, at least one African Stack channel (M-Pesa, WhatsApp, or USSD), and deployment. Your mentor will help you scope it appropriately.

How does this compare to a computer science degree curriculum?

A CS degree covers theoretical foundations (algorithms, data structures, discrete math, operating systems) across 3 to 4 years. This program skips the theory and focuses entirely on applied, production-oriented skills you need to ship software and get hired as a developer. If you want academic depth, get a degree. If you want to build and ship products for the African market as fast as possible, this curriculum is designed for that.

By Bonaventure Ogeto|Updated June 22, 2026

Inside the Curriculum: What You Learn (and Build) in McTaba's Software & AI Engineering Program

McTaba's Software & AI Engineering curriculum spans 30 weeks across five phases: web fundamentals and M-Pesa integration (Weeks 1 to 6), data and CRM engineering with WhatsApp and USSD (Weeks 7 to 13), commerce and fintech with multi-payment systems (Weeks 14 to 22), production engineering with Docker and microservices (Weeks 23 to 26), and a capstone sprint building a multi-tenant business platform (Weeks 27 to 30). AI engineering skills run throughout from Phase 2 onward.

Your Roadmap

Modern Web and API Fundamentals

Weeks 1 through 6

You start where every serious developer should: understanding how the web actually works before touching a framework. This phase covers HTML5 semantic markup, CSS3 layout and responsive design, JavaScript ES6+ with async/await, the HTTP protocol, REST API design, and Git workflows including branching, pull requests, and code review etiquette. By the end of Week 6, you deploy your first production project: an M-Pesa Paylink and Receipt Mini-App that triggers STK Push payments and generates PDF receipts. This is not a toy project. It processes real mobile money transactions using the Safaricom Daraja API.

HTML5 and CSS3 (semantic, responsive)JavaScript ES6+ with async/awaitHTTP protocol and JSONREST API design and Postman testingGit workflows, branching, and pull requestsM-Pesa Daraja API (STK Push)PDF generation

Data, Logic, and CRM Engineering

Weeks 7 through 13

Phase 2 adds databases, authentication, and your first African Stack integrations beyond payments. You learn MongoDB with Mongoose for document storage, PostgreSQL for relational data, and JWT-based authentication with proper security practices. The big additions here are the WhatsApp Business API and USSD engineering via Africa's Talking. You build two projects: a WhatsApp Lead Capture CRM that turns conversations into structured leads with a web dashboard, and a USSD Customer Self-Service App where users dial a short code to check balances and request support. This is also where AI engineering enters the curriculum. You start learning how LLMs work, build your first basic agent, and begin using AI tools in your development workflow.

MongoDB and Mongoose schemasPostgreSQL and relational data modelingJWT authentication and security fundamentalsWhatsApp Business API integrationUSSD engineering (Africa's Talking)Introduction to LLMs and AI agentsAI-assisted development basics

Commerce and Fintech Mastery

Weeks 14 through 22

The longest and most intensive phase. You move into Next.js for server-side rendering, learn state machine patterns for managing complex order flows, and integrate multiple payment providers: M-Pesa, Airtel Money, and Stripe. Webhook security and idempotency become critical skills here because you are handling real money flows. You also learn Telegram Bot API and cron-based automation for scheduled tasks. Two projects: an E-commerce platform with cart, checkout, payments, and automatic WhatsApp order notifications, and a Chama Savings Platform with recurring M-Pesa collections, group balance tracking, and automated contribution reminders via Telegram. On the AI side, you work with RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) to build systems that give LLMs access to business-specific data, and you practice context engineering to control LLM behavior reliably.

Next.js and server-side renderingState machines for order and payment flowsM-Pesa, Airtel Money, and Stripe integrationWebhook security and idempotencyTelegram Bot APICron jobs and task schedulingRAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation)Context engineering for LLM applications

Production Engineering

Weeks 23 through 26

Phase 4 focuses on the skills that separate a developer who can build features from one who can ship and maintain production systems. You learn Redis and BullMQ for job queues, microservices architecture patterns, Docker for containerization, CI/CD pipelines with GitHub Actions, failover logic, and SMS gateway integration. Your projects: a Booking and Appointments System with M-Pesa deposit handling and SMS reminders, and a Multi-Channel Notification Hub that provides a unified API to route alerts through WhatsApp, SMS, or email with automatic failover when one channel goes down. By this point, AI engineering is integrated into your workflow naturally. You are building AI-powered features into your projects, not treating AI as a separate skill.

Redis and BullMQ queuesMicroservices architectureDocker and containerizationCI/CD with GitHub ActionsFailover logic and reliability patternsSMS gateway integrationAI agent tool-use and multi-step workflows

The Capstone Sprint

Weeks 27 through 30

Everything comes together. You build The African SME OS: a multi-tenant operating system for small businesses that combines payments (M-Pesa, Airtel, Stripe), USSD self-service, WhatsApp automation, and CRM into one platform. This project requires multi-tenant architecture, role-based access control, full audit logging, advanced API design, and deployment at scale. It is the most complex thing you will have built, and it demonstrates every skill from the previous four phases working together. You also have the option to build a custom startup project if you have a specific product idea. The phase ends with Demo Day, where you present your capstone to peers, mentors, and invited employers.

Multi-tenant architectureRole-based access controlAudit logging and compliance patternsAdvanced API designFull deployment pipelineDemo preparation and technical presentation

How AI engineering fits into the curriculum

AI engineering is not a standalone module at the end. It is introduced in Phase 2 and woven through every subsequent phase. Here is how it progresses:

Phase 2: You learn how LLMs work (token prediction, context windows, function calling), build a basic AI agent, and start using AI coding tools like Copilot and Claude in your workflow.
Phase 3: You build RAG systems that give LLMs access to business-specific data. You also practice context engineering, learning how to structure prompts and information for reliable LLM outputs.
Phase 4: AI becomes a tool you use in your projects naturally. You build agent workflows with tool-use patterns and integrate AI features into the systems you are shipping.
Phase 5: The capstone integrates everything. Your final project can include AI-powered features: automated customer support via WhatsApp, intelligent lead scoring, or AI-driven business analytics.

The goal is not to make you an ML researcher. It is to make you a developer who can build and ship AI-powered products for real users. That means agents, tool-use patterns, RAG, and context engineering, not neural network theory.

What makes this curriculum different from most bootcamps

Three things separate this from a standard bootcamp curriculum:

The African Stack is the default, not an afterthought. Most bootcamps teach Stripe for payments and stop there. This curriculum teaches M-Pesa (Daraja API), Airtel Money, WhatsApp Business API, USSD via Africa's Talking, and Telegram bots because those are the systems that businesses in Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, and across the continent actually use. If you plan to work in or build for African markets, this matters.

AI engineering is built in from the start. You do not finish 20 weeks of web development and then get a 2-week "intro to AI" tacked on. AI skills are introduced in Phase 2 and practiced through every project afterward. By graduation, using AI tools and building AI features is part of how you work, not something you learned in theory.

Every project ships. You deploy 8 applications during the program. Not localhost demos. Not GitHub repos that nobody visits. Deployed, working applications with real API integrations that you can show in a job interview or to a freelance client. Your portfolio is your credential.

What a typical week looks like

The program runs five days a week with a mix of instruction and hands-on building:

4 live classes with an instructor covering new concepts, live coding, and Q&A. These are interactive sessions, not pre-recorded lectures.
1 peer session where you collaborate with other cohort members on the current project, debug together, and do code reviews.
Daily project work where you apply what you learned in class to your current phase project. Your mentor is available for questions and code review.
Weekly milestones that keep you on track. Each week has specific deliverables tied to the current project. Miss a milestone and your mentor follows up.

Expect to spend 20 to 25 hours per week between classes and independent project work. Some weeks in Phase 3 (the commerce and fintech phase) will demand more because the payment integrations require careful testing.

Full technology stack

Here is every major technology covered in the curriculum:

Frontend: HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript ES6+, React, Next.js

Backend: Node.js, Express, REST APIs, server-side rendering

Databases: MongoDB (Mongoose), PostgreSQL, Redis

Payments: M-Pesa Daraja API (STK Push, C2B, B2C), Airtel Money, Stripe, Paystack

Communication: WhatsApp Business API, USSD (Africa's Talking), Telegram Bot API, SMS gateways, email (SendGrid)

AI Engineering: LLM fundamentals, AI agents, RAG, context engineering, AI coding tools (Copilot, Claude, Cursor)

DevOps: Git, GitHub Actions (CI/CD), Docker, BullMQ job queues, cron scheduling

Architecture: Microservices, multi-tenant design, state machines, webhook patterns, failover logic

You will not master every item on this list in 30 weeks. That is not the point. You will build working systems with each of them, understand when and why to use them, and have the foundation to go deeper on your own after the program.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to know any of these technologies before joining?: No. Phase 1 starts from scratch with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. The curriculum is designed so that complete beginners can follow along. If you already know some basics, you will move through Phase 1 faster and have more time to go deeper on the projects.
Why Next.js instead of just React?: React is covered first and used throughout the program. Next.js is introduced in Phase 3 because server-side rendering matters for SEO, performance on slow connections (common in African markets), and the kinds of e-commerce and business applications you are building. You learn both.
Is the AI engineering content up to date?: The AI curriculum focuses on applied skills (agents, RAG, context engineering, tool use) rather than specific libraries that change every month. We update the specific tools and frameworks each cohort to reflect what is current, but the core skills transfer regardless of which LLM provider or framework is popular at the moment.
Can I see a sample project or demo?: Live demos from current cohort projects will be available once the cohort ships. In the meantime, the project descriptions above reflect exactly what you will build. Each one is a real production application, not a simplified tutorial version.
What if I want to build something different for my capstone?: You can propose a custom capstone project instead of the African SME OS, as long as it demonstrates the same range of skills: full-stack architecture, payment integration, at least one African Stack channel (M-Pesa, WhatsApp, or USSD), and deployment. Your mentor will help you scope it appropriately.
How does this compare to a computer science degree curriculum?: A CS degree covers theoretical foundations (algorithms, data structures, discrete math, operating systems) across 3 to 4 years. This program skips the theory and focuses entirely on applied, production-oriented skills you need to ship software and get hired as a developer. If you want academic depth, get a degree. If you want to build and ship products for the African market as fast as possible, this curriculum is designed for that.

Ready to build real-world apps?

Join the McTaba Labs full-stack marathon (4 months full-time · 6 months part-time). Learn M-Pesa, USSD, and WhatsApp engineering while shipping 8 production apps.

Apply to the McTaba Marathon