How to Apply to McTaba Labs: Every Step From Click to Class

Here is the full timeline, start to finish.

1. Fill out the application form on mctaba.com. Takes about 10 minutes.
2. Admissions conversation. A 15-20 minute phone or video call, scheduled within a few days of your application.
3. Decision. You hear back within a few days of the conversation: accepted, waitlisted, or not accepted.
4. Payment. If accepted, you pay via M-Pesa. Full amount or instalments.
5. Pre-marathon setup. You receive a guide for setting up your laptop with the tools you will need.
6. Day one. You show up (physically or remotely) and start coding.

That is it. No entrance exam. No multi-round interview process. No waiting three months for a response. The process is designed to be simple because the hard part should be the marathon itself, not the application.

Go to mctaba.com and find the application form. It asks for the following.

Your basics: Name, phone number, email address. Standard stuff.

Which track you want: Full-time (4 months, Monday to Friday) or part-time (6 months, evenings and Saturdays). If you are not sure, say so. The admissions team can help you decide during the conversation.

Your current situation: Are you a student, employed, between jobs, or something else? This is not a judgment call. It helps the admissions team understand your schedule and recommend the right track.

Why you want to join: A few sentences. Not an essay. "I want to switch careers from accounting to software development" is a perfectly good answer. So is "I just finished KCSE and I want a practical skill." Be honest. There are no wrong answers here, only dishonest ones.

How you heard about McTaba: Google, a friend, social media, a blog post. This helps us understand where people find us, but it does not affect your application.

The form takes about 10 minutes. Submit it. You will receive a confirmation email or WhatsApp message acknowledging receipt.

Within a few days of submitting your form, someone from the admissions team contacts you to schedule a short conversation. This is usually a phone call or a Google Meet/Zoom call, 15 to 20 minutes.

What they ask you:

• About your schedule: Can you actually commit the hours for your chosen track?
• About your goals: What do you want to do after the marathon? (There are no wrong answers. "Get a developer job" and "build an app for my family's business" are equally valid.)
• About your expectations: Do you understand this is an intensive programme that requires consistent effort? Are you expecting a guaranteed job at the end? (If so, they will correct that expectation.)

What they do NOT ask:

• Your KCSE grade or university GPA.
• Technical questions or coding challenges.
• Brain teasers or puzzle questions.
• Why you deserve a spot (this is not a competition).

What you should ask them:

This is your chance to get answers about anything you are unsure of. Good questions to ask:

• What does a typical week look like on my chosen track?
• How do the instalment payments work?
• What laptop specifications do I need?
• How does the remote participation option work?
• What kind of career support is provided after graduation?

Ask whatever you need to ask. A 15-minute conversation should leave you with enough information to make a confident decision.

After the conversation, you receive one of three outcomes within a few days.

Accepted. You are in. You receive payment instructions and details about the next cohort start date. The message includes everything you need: Paybill number, account number, instalment options (if applicable), and a timeline for when payment needs to be completed.

Waitlisted. The upcoming cohort is full, but you are in line for the next one. You receive an estimated start date for the next cohort and will be contacted when a spot opens. Being waitlisted is not a reflection of your quality. It just means the class is full.

Not accepted. This is rare, but it happens. The admissions team explains the reason. Common reasons include schedule incompatibility (your available hours genuinely do not fit the programme), financial risk (the team believes the fee would cause you hardship and suggests alternatives), or expectation mismatch (you described expectations the programme cannot meet). Not accepted does not mean never. You can reapply when your situation changes.

If you are accepted and decide not to proceed, just let the team know. No pressure, no sales pitch, no follow-up guilt emails. If the timing is wrong, it is wrong.

If you are accepted, you pay via M-Pesa. Here are the details.

Paybill Number: 880100

Account Number: PAYMACTABA

Amount: KES 120,000 (or your first instalment if you have arranged a payment plan)

The payment process is the same as paying any bill through M-Pesa: M-Pesa > Lipa na M-Pesa > Pay Bill > Enter Paybill and Account > Confirm.

Instalment plans: If paying the full amount upfront is not feasible, talk to the admissions team during your conversation. McTaba offers instalment options that let you split the fee across several M-Pesa payments over the duration of the programme. The exact terms vary, so ask before assuming.

When to pay: You need to complete at least your initial payment before day one of the cohort. The acceptance message includes the deadline. If you need a few extra days, communicate with the team. They are reasonable, but they need to know.

Payment confirmation: After payment, you receive a confirmation and your official welcome message with pre-marathon setup instructions. Keep your M-Pesa confirmation message as a receipt.

Between acceptance and day one, you receive a setup guide. Here is what you need to have ready.

A working laptop. Minimum specs: 4GB RAM (8GB recommended), any modern operating system (Windows 10+, macOS, or Linux). It does not need to be new or expensive. A second-hand laptop from Luthuli Avenue works fine as long as it runs smoothly. If you are unsure whether your laptop is sufficient, ask the team. They have seen every possible hardware situation and can advise.

Internet access. Either home WiFi or a reliable mobile data connection. You will be downloading tools, pushing code to GitHub, and joining live sessions. A minimum of 2Mbps is needed for video calls. If data cost is a concern, most of the coding tools work offline once installed. You mainly need internet for sessions, GitHub pushes, and research.

Free accounts to create before day one:

• GitHub: github.com. This is where all your code lives. Create an account with a professional username (your real name, not "dark_coder_254").
• VS Code: Download and install Visual Studio Code. This is the code editor you will use for the entire marathon.
• Vercel: vercel.com. This is where you will deploy your web applications.
• A web browser: Chrome or Firefox, with developer tools. You probably already have this.

The setup guide walks you through each of these with screenshots. If you get stuck on any step, the team helps you resolve it before day one so you do not lose the first session troubleshooting installation issues.

You show up (physically in Nairobi or remotely via video call) and the marathon begins.

Day one is not a lecture about the history of computing. It is not an icebreaker exercise with name tags. You open your code editor and start writing HTML. By the end of day one, you have a basic web page live on the internet. Your first deployment. Your first URL.

You also meet your cohort. These are the people who will be your study partners, debugging allies, and accountability partners for the next 4 to 6 months. Exchange WhatsApp numbers. You will need them when you are stuck at midnight and your mentor is asleep.

Day one sets the tone: this is a programme about building, not about watching. You will write code every single day. The sooner you get comfortable with that rhythm, the better the next 26 weeks will feel.

And if you are nervous on day one, know this: every person in your cohort is nervous too. Including the ones who look confident.

"When is the next cohort?"

Cohort dates are listed on mctaba.com. If the next cohort is full, you can apply for the waitlist for the following one.

"Can I apply from outside Nairobi?"

Yes. McTaba offers remote participation. The application process is the same. During the admissions conversation, mention that you will be joining remotely so the team can explain how remote sessions work.

"What if I apply and then change my mind?"

If you apply and decide not to proceed before paying, there is no obligation. Just let the team know. If you have already paid and need to withdraw, contact the team to discuss options.

"Can I defer to a later cohort?"

In most cases, yes. If you are accepted but something changes in your life before the cohort starts, reach out to the team about deferring to the next available cohort. This is better than joining when you are not ready and dropping out mid-programme.

"I am nervous about the admissions conversation. What if I say something wrong?"

It is not a test. There are no trick questions. The admissions team is trying to understand your situation, not catch you out. Be honest about your schedule, your goals, and your concerns. Honesty helps them help you.