Ask a young Tanzanian girl what comes to mind when she hears the phrase “web developer” or “tech entrepreneur”. Unless she has family members or female role models who understand technology, she will probably picture these as men’s jobs—or she may not even know what the terms mean.
Seeking to bridge the global gender gap in access to digital technologies, and to empower Tanzanian girls to become tech entrepreneurs and change-makers in their society, Uganda-born Carolyne Ekyarisiima launched Apps & Girls in 2013. Carolyne’s passion for computers and their potential to change the world developed when she was exposed to ICTs at university (she holds a BSc in Computer Science and an MSc in Information Systems). As a lecturer at Kampala International University, she confronted the existence of the digital gender gap, but was also inspired by young girls’ computer skills and their innovative power to reduce the gap.
“I wanted to make girls believe that they can do something on their own, build a project and be future role models,” Carolyne says. « When you talk about female role models in Tanzania, there are very few.”
By establishing coding clubs in 17 primary and secondary schools across Dar Es Salaam, Apps & Girls has been raising awareness of ICTs and is providing excellent training in coding. The team also mentors students working on digital projects, helping them to create and implement impactful solutions for their communities.
Modesta Joseph is a 15-year-old Apps & Girls’ student who has developed her own project and website, “Our Cries,” which allows students to report their experiences of unfair treatment on public transport. From among an array of impressive young African entrepreneurs, Modesta was shortlisted by Ashoka, a global organization that identifies and invests in leading social entrepreneurs, and she recently won Ashoka’s Innovation Grant, enabling her to build a mobile app for her project.
Apps & Girls organizes hack-a-thons, boot camps, and competitions that not only encourage and allow girls to bring their ideas to life, but also help them to develop their project-pitching skills. As 16-year-old Aisha puts it: “these competitions help me gain confidence because I have to learn how to pitch in front of others”.
By 2014 Carolyne and her partner Wilhem had already, with the assistance of 10 volunteers, trained 242 girls aged 10 to 18. “Once you empower a young girl or a woman, it changes everything,” Carolyne observes. “Within the family, and even across the country, many good things happen.”
Carolyne’s next challenge is to provide students with free access to IT resources in a dedicated co-working space. This is a crucial step, since most of the girls don’t own a computer and therefore cannot practice and hone their skills at home. With the creation of this lab, Apps & Girls will nurture future Tanzanian tech entrepreneurs who will contribute to the country’s development through innovative digital projects.
During our mission for Apps & Girls, we spent time with Carolyne and Wilhem, visiting a variety of the schools at which Apps & Girls provides coding training. We were privileged to meet with the students working with them as they learned to pitch their ideas and speak more persuasively in front of others. In addition, we collaborated with Carolyne on many aspects of her organization, including her digital communication strategy and business modeling. We helped her to refine her strategy, lay out a three-year business plan, with a digital communication plan and a stakeholder map, and design a new presentation for her sponsors.
W4 is proud to support the pioneering work of Apps & Girls, which is improving individual lives and promising to change the future of a whole society. If you would like to join Carolyne and her team in their endeavour to help girls and women in Tanzania to increase their own wellbeing and that of their families and communities, please click here.
To find out more, watch the following video: https://vimeo.com/131444848
