Safaricom’s Women in Technology (WIT) initiative has partnered with Technovation, a non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring women in technology and entrepreneurship to launch the edition of the Technovation Challenge.
The challenge is a women-led 12 week app development and mentorship programme aimed at cultivating interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics studies as well as igniting young girls interest in ICT careers. This year the program will see girls from 11 high schools work in teams of four to five to identify a challenge affecting a specific group of people. They will then be asked to develop a mobile-phone based application that offers a sustainable solution. The initiative has been successful so far with over 700 high school students in over 22 schools having participated since 2014.
The Safaricom CEO, Bob Collymore had this to say at the launch “Mobile has the ability to transform lives in ways no other technology can. By giving young girls an incentive to apply themselves to the issues they face using technology, we hope to nurture the next generation of home-grown innovators.”
The initiative seeks to boost the number of employed women working in technical positions. So far the program has managed to record significant milestones since its launch. On its part Safaricom has more women in tech (18%) than the industry average across Africa (11%).
Finalists of the challenge will win tickets to present their ideas at a global event to be held in Silicon Valley, California, which aims to promote technology entrepreneurship. The ultimate winner in California stands a chance to win $10,000 for further development and marketing of the app.
Last year’s winners, Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Secondary School from Mombasa, made it to the semi-finals in the global competition held in Silicon Valley. Their mobile application – Gold in Garbage – teaches users how to recycle garbage, make money from recycling and links users to bodies interested in recycling.
There is no official deadline for application, however the earlier you apply the better. Click here to check out the rules.