“Almost Nobody Is Talking About This”: Gent Discusses Free AI Courses From Microsoft on SABC Plus

• An AI consultant and career coach broke down three free Microsoft programmes available to South Africans
• The programmes cover Azure cloud, AI fundamentals and cybersecurity, and anyone with a South African ID can sign up with no degree required
• South Africans rushed to the comments asking for the links and for more information

An AI consultant just dropped a plug that young South Africans needed to hear. Akhil, the founder of Zaio Institute and career coach behind @africantechbro.ai on TikTok, posted a video on 31 March 2026. He broke down three free Microsoft programmes that he says almost nobody is talking about. He captioned the post by saying Microsoft had put free AI courses on SABC Plus and was giving away 50,000 free certification vouchers through the YES programme. He shared that the vouchers were limited, so people needed to move fast.

The first programme is on SABC Plus, which is a streaming platform. Microsoft and SABC have partnered to add AI fluency and digital skills modules directly into the app. Learners can sign up with a Google or Microsoft account. They can work through the modules on their phone and earn digital badges recognised by Pearson. According to Microsoft's press release, SABC Plus already has just over 1.9 million registered users. It is one of the biggest free internet-based platforms on the continent.

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The second programme is through the YES initiative, which is giving 50,000 South Africans free Microsoft certification exam vouchers. Learners sign up at yesaiskills.co.za using their South African ID and complete the training on Microsoft Learn. Once they score 70% on the practice exam, they can claim their voucher and book the real certification exam. The certifications on offer include Azure Cloud, AI Fundamentals and cybersecurity. Akhil warned in the video that 50,000 might sound like a lot, but with 1.4 million unemployed graduates in the country, those vouchers will go fast.

The third programme is Ikamva Digital, a platform for students across 50 TVET colleges offering five career tracks, including cybersecurity, data analytics, software development, cloud and multimedia. Content can be downloaded offline, meaning learners do not need to burn data to access it. Microsoft launched this initiative to train one million South Africans by 2026.

Watch the TikTok clip below:

SA is interested in the free courses

People responded quickly in the comments section of TikToker @africantechbro.ai's post:

@rarebreed1001 asked:

"Are you limited to one voucher or as many courses as you finish?"

@LearnTechWithSiya said:

"Super cool! 🎉🎉🔥"

@Maureen wrote:

"Microsoft."

@nthabi_mau1 wrote:

"Microsoft."

More on SA education opportunities

• Briefly News recently reported on a Cape Town top matric achiever who scored a 93.4% average and has applied to both Cambridge and MIT.
• A massive R3.2 billion private Afrikaans university campus is taking shape in Pretoria, and South Africans said the project was giving them real hope for the future.
• Briefly News also put together a guide on how South African students can choose the right university programme for their career goals.

Source: Briefly News