Institute Of Software Technologies

What Institute Of Software Technologies does

Institute Of Software Technologies (IST) is a private vocational and professional training institution headquartered at Westpoint Building, Mpaka Road, Westlands, Nairobi, Kenya. Founded in 2004 with 56 employees, the institution delivers software development and cybersecurity education through two flagship 12-month AI-integrated diploma tracks (Software Development covering MERN stack, Laravel/Vue.js, DevOps, and cloud deployment; and Cyber Security and Ethical Hacking covering penetration testing, SOC operations, SIEM, cloud security, and AI-driven threat detection), supported by 4-month foundational certificate programs and a broad catalogue of professional certification prep courses spanning EC-Council (CEH, CHFI, ECSA, LPT), Red Hat, Oracle, AWS, VMware, CompTIA, Cisco, PRINCE2, and ITIL.

IST operates a physical, instructor-led training model at its Nairobi campus with scheduled tri-annual intakes (January, May, September), supplemented by online classes and Saturday classes for working professionals. The institute's technology proposition is a project-driven, AI-integrated curriculum framework that combines vendor-aligned certification prep with hands-on labs and portfolio-ready project work, rather than proprietary AI systems.

IST monetizes through per-program tuition fees paid per semester (Diploma in Software Development totals KES 160,000; Certificate in Cyber Security KES 70,000; May 2026 pilot cohort KES 50,000 introductory), with installment payment options and a KES 10,000 discount for lump-sum diploma payment. Customer segments comprise four learner personas — high school graduates, university students, career switchers, and working IT professionals — with no disclosed enterprise or B2B contract base. Distribution is direct-to-consumer via the isteducation.com website, supported by a dedicated Student Admissions & Recruitment team and an organic social presence across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, and WhatsApp Business.

Name

Institute Of Software Technologies

Legal name

Institute of Software Technologies

Website

https://isteducation.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Institute Of Software Technologies (IST) is a private Nairobi-based vocational training institution offering AI-integrated diploma and certificate programs in software development and cybersecurity, alongside vendor certification prep courses for EC-Council, Red Hat, Oracle, AWS, and VMware, serving individual learners in Kenya.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Vocational Technology Training

NAICS

Computer Training (611420), Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Technical and Trade Schools (6115)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAAAPAB

Information Technology & Software

Education/Adult & Continuing Education/Industry-Specific Training (Healthcare, Tech, etc.)

SECONDARYBPAEANAI

Software Engineering & Application Development Training (Languages, Frameworks, Testing)

Business & Public Services/IT & Digital Services (Managed Services, Systems Integration)/IT Training & Technical Enablement Services

SECONDARYBPAEANAA

Vendor/Authorized Certification Training (Microsoft/AWS/Cisco, etc.)

Business & Public Services/IT & Digital Services (Managed Services, Systems Integration)/IT Training & Technical Enablement Services

SECONDARYEDABAFAH

Systems Administration & IT Operations (Windows/Linux, Monitoring, ITSM)

Education/Corporate Training & Professional Development/Technical & IT Skills Training

Keywords

• Software development training
• Cybersecurity certification
• IT professional training
• Vocational technology education
• Professional certification courses

Headquarters

HQ city

Nairobi

HQ country

Kenya

HQ region

Africa

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Course Fees: Revenue generated from course fees for certificates, diplomas, and professional training programs. Fees are payable per semester with installment options available.
2. Professional Certification Training: Training programs that prepare students for industry certifications including EC-Council, Red Hat, Oracle, AWS, VMware, and other vendor certifications.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Institute of Software Technologies is a vocational and professional training institution in Nairobi, Kenya that sells instructor-led technology courses including AI-integrated diplomas and certificates in software development and cyber security, alongside partner-authorized certification prep programs for EC-Council, Red Hat, Oracle, AWS, VMware, and project management frameworks. Programs are delivered through physical day classes, online classes, and Saturday classes on a per-semester enrollment basis with intakes in January, May, and September.

Product overview

Institute of Software Technologies (IST) is a vocational and professional training institution based in Nairobi, Kenya, offering a portfolio of technology-focused certificate programs, diploma programs, and professional certification prep courses. The core offerings are structured around two flagship AI-integrated diploma tracks: the Diploma in Software Development (covering MERN stack, Laravel/Vue.js, DevOps, and cloud deployment over 12 months) and the Diploma in Cyber Security and Ethical Hacking (covering penetration testing, SOC operations, SIEM, cloud security, and AI-driven threat detection over 12 months). These diplomas are supported by foundational certificate programs (Certificate in Cyber Security and Certificate in Software Development, both 4 months) that serve as entry pathways. Beyond the core AI-integrated programs, IST's portfolio spans a wide range of professional certification courses including EC-Council programs (CEH, CHFI, ECSA, LPT), CompTIA certifications, Cisco networking, Red Hat (System Administration, OpenStack, OpenShift, Ceph Storage, Gluster Storage), Oracle Database 19c, Oracle E-Business Suite financials, AWS cloud certifications, VMware, SUSE Linux, and project management frameworks (PRINCE2, ITIL). Short courses cover areas such as 3D Printing, Android Application Development, Ethical Hacking, and Cyber Security for Beginners. The institution also provides training partner programs for corporate clients. All programs are delivered through instructor-led physical classes in Nairobi, with select programs available online or on Saturdays.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Diploma in Software Development (AI-Integrated) A 12-month (two-semester) full-stack software development diploma covering the MERN stack (MongoDB, Express, React, Node.js) and Laravel/Vue.js, with AI-assisted development tools, DevOps practices (Git, Docker, CI/CD), and cloud deployment (AWS/Azure). Total course fee: KES 160,000. Targets students seeking job-ready software development skills.
• Diploma in Cyber Security and Ethical Hacking (AI-Integrated) A 12-month (two-semester) advanced diploma covering penetration testing, Security Operations (SOC), SIEM and SOAR platforms, cloud and container security, DevSecOps, cyber forensics, governance and compliance, and AI-driven threat detection. Targets students pursuing cybersecurity careers.
• Certificate in Software Development (AI-Integrated) A 4-month foundational certificate program equipping learners with practical skills to design and build modern web applications. Covers computer systems, structured and object-oriented programming, databases, HTML/CSS web design, and AI-assisted development tools. No prior programming experience required.
• Certificate in Cyber Security (AI-Integrated) A 4-month foundational certificate program in cybersecurity and ethical hacking with hands-on labs, real-world attack simulations, cloud security basics, AI-related threats, and practical ethical hacking exercises. Fees: KES 70,000.
• Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) A professional certification prep course preparing students for the EC-Council Certified Ethical Hacker exam (125 questions, 4 hours). Covers footprinting, scanning, enumeration, system hacking, malware, sniffing, social engineering, DoS/DDoS, session hijacking, web server/application hacking, SQL injection, wireless security, mobile platform security, cloud computing, and cryptography. Exam delivered via ECC EXAM and VUE.
• Computer Hacking Forensic Investigator (CHFI) A 5-day intensive professional training course preparing students for the EC-Council Computer Hacking Forensic Investigator certification. Covers digital forensic acquisitions, bit-stream imaging, electronic evidence analysis, hard disk examinations, data recovery, volatile/non-volatile information gathering, post-intrusion analysis, malware forensics, database forensics, cloud forensics, and investigative reporting.
• Licensed Penetration Tester (LPT) Professional penetration testing certification prep course covering vulnerability assessment, advanced scanning and enumeration, exploitation, post-exploitation persistence, perimeter bypass, scripting (Perl, Python, Ruby), Metasploit module development, and penetration testing report writing.
• EC-Council Certified Security Analyst (ECSA) Advanced pen-testing certification course covering OSINT, social engineering, network penetration testing (internal/external/perimeter), web application penetration testing, database and wireless penetration testing, cloud penetration testing, and professional report writing.
• Certified Network Defender (CND) Professional network defense certification course covering computer network and defense fundamentals, network security controls, physical and host security, firewall, VPN, IDS configuration, network traffic monitoring, wireless network defense, data backup and recovery, and incident response.
• Red Hat System Administration I (and II, III) 40-hour foundational Red Hat Linux administration course covering command-line access, file management, user/group management, file permissions, process management, services/daemons, OpenSSH, log analysis, networking, software management, and KVM virtualization. Advanced courses cover automation, SELinux, networking, and prepare students for RHCSA and RHCE certifications.
• Red Hat OpenStack Administration (CL110, CL210, CL310) OpenStack cloud platform administration courses covering installation, configuration, instance management, block/object storage, external networking, undercloud/overcloud management, Keystone identity service, AMQP messaging, image building, Ceph/Swift storage, compute node management, live instance migration, network troubleshooting, and Heat orchestration.
• Red Hat OpenShift Administration I (DO280) OpenShift Container Platform administration course covering installation, cluster configuration, networking concepts, CLI command execution, access control, persistent storage provisioning, application deployment management, metrics configuration, and monitoring. Prepares for EX280 certification.
• Red Hat OpenShift Development II: Containerizing Applications (DO288) 40-hour OpenShift application development course covering application deployment, containerization methods, enterprise registry management, build process management, S2I customization, multi-container applications with Helm and Kustomize, deployment methods, and third-party application integration.
• Red Hat Ceph Storage: Architecture and Administration Storage administration course covering Ceph cluster deployment and expansion, RBD block storage, RADOSGW object storage, CephFS file storage, CRUSH map management, cluster map maintenance, performance tuning, troubleshooting, and OpenStack integration.
• Red Hat Gluster Storage Administration Gluster storage administration course covering Red Hat Gluster Storage installation, volume creation, client configuration, ACLs and quotas, volume extension, IP failover, georeplication, snapshots, storage tiering, and network encryption.
• VMware vSphere: Install, Configure, Manage (V6.7) 5-day intensive VMware vSphere 7 training course covering installation, configuration, and management of VMware vSphere environments, including hands-on labs focused on software-defined data center operations.
• VMware NSX: Install, Configure, Manage (V6.4) 5-day comprehensive training on VMware NSX for software-defined data center networking, covering installation, configuration, and management of NSX network virtualization components.
• VMware Cloud Foundation eLearning course covering management of software-defined data centers using VMware Cloud Foundation, including user/role management, physical and logical resource management, workload domain provisioning, monitoring, and software component lifecycle management.
• AWS Certified Solution Architect - Associate AWS cloud architecture certification course covering core AWS concepts, designing highly available environments, migrating applications to AWS, event-driven scaling, automation, decoupling, and the AWS Well-Architected Framework.
• AWS Certified Developer - Associate AWS developer certification course teaching how to use the AWS SDK to develop secure, scalable cloud applications on AWS.
• AWS Certified SysOps Administrator - Associate AWS systems operations certification course designed for Systems Administrator or DevOps roles, covering system operations on AWS including deployment, management, and maintenance of AWS infrastructure.
• AWS DevOps Engineering AWS DevOps certification course covering common DevOps patterns for developing, deploying, and maintaining applications on AWS.
• AWS Certified Solution Architect - Professional Advanced AWS architecture certification covering multi-account management, hybrid architecture, large-scale data migration, scalable website design, DDoS protection, encryption, and performance optimization on AWS.
• Oracle Database 19c: Administration Oracle Database 19c administration course covering SQL fundamentals, database architecture, schema object management, data manipulation, user access control, and Oracle Cloud Exadata Express. Prepares for OCA - Database Admin certification.
• Oracle Database 19c: Managing Multitenant Architecture 16-hour Oracle multitenant architecture course covering container databases (CDB), pluggable databases (PDB), storage management, security, backup/recovery, performance monitoring, and resource allocation in Oracle Database 19c.
• Oracle Database 19c: Backup and Recovery Workshop 40-hour Oracle backup and recovery course covering RMAN, Flashback Technologies, Data Recovery Advisor, encrypted backups, tablespace point-in-time recovery, FRA configuration, and Oracle Secure Backup.
• Oracle Database 19c: UNIX and Linux 30-hour UNIX and Linux essentials course for Oracle database users and administrators, covering shell usage, file management, vim editor, permissions, process control, shell scripting, archiving, and remote file transfer.
• R12 Oracle e-Business Suite Financials Suite of Oracle E-Business Suite R12 financial management courses covering Payables, Receivables, General Ledger, Asset Management, Subledger Accounting, Cash Management, Purchasing, Order Management, Inventory Management, iProcurement, E-Business Tax, and E-Business Suite Fundamentals.
• SUSE Enterprise Linux 2-week Linux administration course covering SUSE Linux installation, essential tools, file management, text file handling, remote/local connectivity, user and group management, permissions, networking, process management, software management, task scheduling, and partition management.
• PRINCE2 Foundation A 3-day project management certification course covering PRINCE2 principles, themes, and processes. Exam format: 60 multiple choice questions, 55% passing score, 1-hour closed-book exam.
• PRINCE2 Practitioner Advanced PRINCE2 project management certification covering 7 principles, 7 themes, and 7 processes, including product-based planning, quality review techniques, risk management, and Project Initiation Documentation preparation. Requires PRINCE2 Foundation certificate for eligibility.
• ITIL Foundation IT service management certification introducing ITIL concepts including service lifecycle, key principles and models, processes, functions, roles, technology and architecture, with focus on ITIL 4 four dimensions of service management and integration with Lean, Agile, and DevOps.
• ITIL Intermediate Modules Series of ITIL intermediate-level certification modules including Service Strategy, Service Design, Service Transition, and Continual Service Improvement, covering management-level concepts, processes, policies, and implementation methods for IT service management.
• Cyber Security for Beginners A 2-week introductory cybersecurity course covering IT security fundamentals, Linux basics, social engineering attacks, web security, and Google hacking. Delivered as physical classes from 2pm to 4pm. Prerequisites: basic computer skills and internet access.
• Ethical Hacking An advanced cybersecurity course covering footprinting and reconnaissance, network scanning and enumeration, system hacking and exploitation, and SQL injection techniques. Requires knowledge of Linux, web development, and databases.
• Advanced Ethical Hacking A 3-week advanced ethical hacking course focused on Denial of Service attacks, IDS/Firewall/Honeypot evasion, and advanced SQL injection techniques. Requires prior completion of Ethical Hacking for Beginners course.
• Android Application Development Advanced A 1-month advanced Android mobile application development course covering Kotlin programming, Android Studio, Jetpack libraries, layouts, navigation, activity/fragment lifecycles, Room database, coroutines, RecyclerView, internet connectivity, and repository patterns. Requires Java/OOP programming knowledge.
• 3D Printing A 14-week comprehensive hands-on course covering 3D printing and modeling. Students learn 3D printer operation, materials, design using Fusion 360 and Blender, slicing with Ultimaker Cura, and print debugging. Combines theory and practice with a capstone project.
• Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) Exam Performance-based Red Hat Certified Engineer certification exam for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 (EX300), testing advanced system administration skills. Requires RHCSA certification or equivalent experience.
• May 2026 AI-Integrated Pilot Cohort A pilot cohort launched on the new AI-integrated, project-driven framework, expanding IST's software development and cybersecurity training with a discounted introductory fee of KES 50,000 for physical day classes in Nairobi.

Quantifiable outcome

• Portfolio-ready systems and practical confidence to design, build, deploy, and maintain scalable, production-ready software solutions
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• EC-CouncilcoreTechnology or IntegrationIST offers EC-Council certification programs including Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), Computer Hacking Forensic Investigator (CHFI), EC-Council Certified Security Analyst (ECSA), and Licensed Penetration Tester (LPT). These are industry-standard cybersecurity certifications.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Zindua School: Kenya-based affordable software development bootcamp with installment-based tuition; comparable to IST on target segment (Kenyan individuals seeking practical tech credentials) and pricing-sensitive positioning.
• Power Learn Project (PLP): East African software development training program with cohorts across multiple countries; overlaps IST's software dev diploma curriculum and shares the same regional learner demographic.
• Moringa School: Nairobi-based software development and data science bootcamp serving both individuals and corporate clients; directly comparable to IST on target learner (Kenyan career switchers and graduates), pricing model, and software-dev curriculum focus.
• ALX Africa: Pan-African tech training provider offering software engineering and data science programs with strong brand recognition; competes with IST for the same East African learner pool and offers similar entry-to-advanced pathways.

Emerging players

• Udacity: Online tech education platform with nanodegree programs in AI, cloud, and cybersecurity; partial overlap with IST's AI-integrated curriculum direction, primarily through online delivery rather than instructor-led physical training.

Broad incumbents

• Andela: Africa-origin technology training and talent platform with learning programs for software engineers; competes with IST for the same African developer-talent narrative, though with a more enterprise-focused model.
• Aptech: Global IT and software training franchise with a presence across Africa; broader portfolio of IT credentials but overlapping with IST on software development and certification training offerings.
• Coursera: Global online education platform offering professional certificates and university-credentialed programs; competes with IST's online delivery mode and offers overlapping AWS, Google Cloud, and cybersecurity credentials.
• NIIT: Established global IT training provider with deep vendor partnerships across cloud, cybersecurity, and enterprise platforms; comparable to IST on its multi-vendor certification catalog and IT skills focus.
• Simplilearn: Online bootcamp and certification provider covering AWS, Azure, cybersecurity, and project management tracks; directly comparable to IST on its vendor-certification prep catalog and individual-learner GTM.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/isteducation
• Facebookfacebook.com/ISTeducation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/school/institute-of-software-technologies
• Instagraminstagram.com/ist_education

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Institute Of Software Technologies