5 women-focused bootcamps for young African women ready to delve into tech
The issue of women’s under-representation in technology is one that will continue to haunt the industry and provide meat for debate. And it isn’t only an African issue; women all across the world are trying to keep up with their male counterparts.
According to Statista, just 9.8 percent of start-up founders in West Africa were women between 2010 and 2019. The vast majority of founders, almost 90.2 percent, were men.
The figures are slightly higher for the entire continent, as in 2020, roughly 85 percent of co-founder and C-level roles in African businesses were held by men, while only 15 percent were held by women. Although the global average was slightly higher, the majority of company founders were still men.
These figures show that women are underrepresented in the technology industry. Fortunately, resources and chances for women to break into the computer business are becoming more readily available. There is an increasing number of inclusive digital societies that offer opportunities to women, invest in feminist technology, and place young women at the center of building and learning solutions.
There are various locations for suitable coaching and mentorship for young women trying to make an entry into the digital field. These five organizations have created a safe space and pathways for young women to discover and pursue their interests in technology.
She Code Africa
She Code Africa is a non-profit that connects African girls with a network of female professionals. The organization has 14 offices in Nigeria, Kenya, and Rwanda. It provides girls with learning tools such as tutorials, articles, videos, career possibilities, and invitations to global conferences and technology events.
The Summer Code Camp is an annual program of She Code Africa aimed at stimulating and nurturing high school girls from throughout Africa’s interest in STEM. It is a four-week learning bootcamp designed to educate people on technology and guide them through learning in many elements of technology.
The She Code Africa mentoring program is a 3 months program designed to pair experienced individuals excelling in their specific tech fields with beginners so as to impart more knowledge and help them grow in their career fields.
To learn more about She Code Africa and how to be a member of the organisation, click here.
Africa Agility- Girls in Tech initiative
Africa Agility is a non-profit organization that aims to spark a movement in Africa that will transform the Agile and digital business sectors. Africa Agility is aiding girls in acquiring access to technology training and education, as well as digital agile methodologies, in order to close the gender gap in technology.
Girls in Tech is a program that aims to teach female students Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Data Science, and entrepreneurship. The Girls in Technology Initiative takes three approaches:
The Learn approach includes a virtual self-paced program, a virtual instructor-led Bootcamp, and an in-person Bootcamp. The Lean approach is a 3-month project-based curriculum with mentorship from industry professionals.
The last approach is The Leap approach which is the Job placement or entrepreneurship path.
Click here to apply for the upcoming Girls in Tech Bootcamp.
The Women Techsters
The Women Techsters program aims to bridge the digital and technological knowledge gap between men and women while also ensuring equitable access to opportunities for all.
The Women Techsters Bootcamp aims to provide participants with sufficient learning chances to gain important tech skills, jump-start careers, or cover knowledge gaps from new technologies. It is a two-week intensive digital skills training program for girls and women in Africa led by expert facilitators.
A Women Techsters Fellowship, a year-long coding program for young women, is also available. The training will last three months and will be supplemented with a six-month internship and enrollment in a mentorship program.
The Fellowship Program is an opportunity for women to upskill and build the capacity needed to access decent work opportunities. The learning paths for this training are Software Development, Product Design (UI/UX), Cybersecurity, Product Management, Data Science and Artificial Intelligence Engineering.
Read all about Women Techsters programs here.
She Hacks Africa
She Hacks Africa is a hands-on coding and product design bootcamp that aims to instill confidence in African teenagers as change agents and digital innovators in their communities, while also providing them with the necessary skills to launch their own technology businesses.
Learning to code will provide women with the knowledge they need to get started and increase their employment, entrepreneurship, leadership, and productivity. It will also educate them how to host their own websites and create apps. Full stack development, UI/UX design, artificial intelligence, and mobile app development are among the courses available. The program will last no more than four weeks.
Click here to apply and also view past projects of She Hacks Africa bootcamp.
The matter of low involvement of women in tech is one issue that will continue to plague the tech space and continue to be fodder for conversations. And it isn’t just an African problem because the world over, women are struggling to measure up with their male counterparts.
According to Statista, between 2010 and 2019, only 9.8% of start-up founders in West Africa were women. About 90.2% of founders were men, representing the vast majority.
The numbers are a bit higher for the entire continent as in 2020, approximately 85% of co-founder and C-level positions of startups in Africa were occupied by men, while only 15% were occupied by women. The global average was slightly higher, though most startup founders were still men.
These statistics reveal that women are underrepresented in the tech space. Fortunately, resources and opportunities are increasingly becoming available for women to gain a footing in the tech industry. There is a rising number of inclusive digital societies that provide opportunities for women, invest in feminist technology and put young women at the centre of designing and learning solutions.
For young women who are looking to make an entrance into the tech space, there are different spaces for proper guidance and mentorship is necessary. These 5 organisations have created a safe space and avenues for young women to discover and pursue their areas of interest in tech.
She Code Africa
She Code Africa is a non-profit organization that provides African girls with access to a network of female professionals. The organization operates in 14 cities across Nigeria, Kenya and Rwanda. It gives girls access to learning resources -tutorials, articles, videos, job opportunities and promotions to global conferences and tech events.
The Summer Code Camp is an annual initiative of She Code Africa targeted at high school girls from across Africa to stimulate and nurture their interest in STEM. It is a 4-week learning bootcamp to educate them on tech and take them through learning in different aspects of tech.
The She Code Africa mentoring program is a 3 months program designed to pair experienced individuals excelling in their specific tech fields with beginners so as to impart more knowledge and help them grow in their career fields.
To learn more about She Code Africa and how to be a member of the organisation, click here.
Africa Agility- Girls in Tech initiative
Africa Agility is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to ignite a movement in Africa that will transform the Agile and digital business sector. Africa Agility is working to close the gender gap in technology by assisting girls in gaining access to technology training and education, as well as digital agile techniques.
Girls in Tech is a program aimed at equipping female students with skills in ArtificiaI Intelligence, Machine Learning, Data Science, and entrepreneurship. The Girls in Tech Initiative consists of three approaches:
The Learn approach consists of the virtual self-paced program, the virtual instructor-led Bootcamp and the in-person Bootcamp, The Lean approach is a 3-month project-based program with mentorship opportunities from industry experts. The last approach is The Leap approach which is the Job placement or entrepreneurship path.
Click here to apply for the upcoming Girls in Tech bootcamp.
The Women Techsters
The Women Techsters initiative is aimed at bridging the digital and technology knowledge divide between men and women as well as ensuring equal access to opportunities for all.
The Women Techsters Bootcamp aims to provide adequate learning opportunities for participants to develop relevant tech skills, jump-start careers, or fill in knowledge gaps from emerging technologies. It is a 2-week intensive digital skills training for girls and women across Africa by experienced facilitators.
There is also a Women Techsters Fellowship, a year-long coding program for young women. The training is for three months, supported by a six-month internship and enrollment into a mentorship program.
The Fellowship Program is an opportunity for women to upskill and build the capacity needed to access decent work opportunities. The learning paths for this training are Software Development, Product Design (UI/UX), Cybersecurity, Product Management, Data Science and Artificial Intelligence Engineering.
Read all about Women Techsters programs here.
She Hacks Africa
She Hacks Africa is a hands-on coding and product design bootcamp that aims to build self-confidence in African youths as change agents and technology innovators in their communities while giving them relevant skills to build technology enterprises.
Training workshops will give women the know-how to get started and boost their employability, entrepreneurship and leadership skills and productivity by learning to code. It will also teach them how to host their websites and how to design apps. Courses include full stack development, UI/UX design, artificial intelligence and mobile app development. The program will take a maximum of 4 weeks.
Click here to apply and also view past projects of She Hacks Africa bootcamp.
Afro-Tech Girls
Afro-Tech Girls is a non-profit organization based in Nigeria that was created in 2015 to boost the engagement of girls and young women in STEM.
Every summer, ATG runs a bootcamp to integrate STEM instruction into everyday activities for girls in Nigeria. During the two weeks of Bootcamp, participants are expected to give solutions to societal challenges by designing solutions.
The goal is to inspire young girls to see themselves as assets to their communities, as problem solvers. You can find them here.
Women who want to work in technology must be driven and committed in order to succeed. It takes time, just like everything else wonderful. These communities have ensured that appropriate assistance and resources are available for success.
Early-stage investor, Elizabeth Pambuka talks about how women-led startups can attract angel investments.
