5 All-female Bootcamps For Young African Women Interested In Pursuing Careers In Technology

5 all-female bootcamps for young African women interested in pursuing careers in technology

In the technology industry, the issue of women's underrepresentation is one that will continue to plague the industry and provide fodder for discussion for years to come. And this is not just an African problem; women all over the world are struggling to keep up with their male counterparts in the workplace.

During the period 2010 to 2019, only 9.8 percent of start-up founders in West Africa were female, according to data from Statista. Men constituted approximately 90.2 percent of the founders, constituting the lion's share of the group.

The figures are slightly higher across the continent, as approximately 85 percent of co-founders and C-level positions in startups in Africa were held by men in 2020, compared to only 15 percent by women. Globally, the average was slightly higher, though men continued to constitute the vast majority of startup founders.

Women are underrepresented in the technology sector, as evidenced by these statistics. Resources and opportunities for women looking to break into the technology industry are becoming increasingly available, which is a good thing. Inclusive digital societies are becoming increasingly common. These societies provide opportunities for women and girls, invest in feminist technology, and place young women at the forefront of solution design and learning.

For young women looking to break into the tech industry, there are numerous opportunities for proper guidance and mentorship. These five organizations have provided a safe space and opportunities for young women to explore and pursue their interests in technology. They are grateful for their contributions.

She Code Africa

It is the mission of She Code Africa, a non-profit organization under Section 501(c)(3), to connect young African women to a network of female professionals. Nigeria, Kenya, and Rwanda are all represented by the organization, which has offices in fourteen cities throughout the three countries. Among the educational resources available are tutorials, articles and videos; it also connects girls with job opportunities and invitations to international conferences and technology events.

This annual initiative of She Code Africa is designed to arouse and nurture the interest of high school girls from across Africa in the fields of computer science and mathematics (STEM). Students will learn about technology and be guided through various aspects of the field during the course of the four-week bootcamp.

During a three-month period, the She Code Africa mentoring program pairs experienced individuals who are leaders in their respective technology fields with beginning coders in order to impart knowledge and assist them in developing their professional skills and careers.

To find out more about She Code Africa and how to get involved, visit their website.

Africa Agility is an initiative for women in technology

Nigerian non-profit organization Africa Agility is dedicated to sparking a movement in Africa that will transform the agile and digital business sectors. It is a 501(c)(3) organization. Africa Agility is assisting girls in gaining access to technology training and education, as well as digital agile techniques, in order to close the gender gap in the field of information and communications technology.

A program called Girls in Tech educates female students on topics such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science, and entrepreneurship. A total of three components make up the Girls in Technology Initiative. These are:

Essentially, Learn is made up of three parts: a virtual self-paced program, a virtual instructor-led Bootcamp, and an in-person Bootcamp. Using the Lean approach, students complete a three-month project-based program that includes mentoring from industry professionals. In the end, there's The Leap, which is a path to gainful employment or entrepreneurial endeavors.

Women Techsters

In order to close the digital and technological knowledge gap that exists between men and women, as well as to ensure that all people have equal access to opportunities, the Women Techsters initiative was launched.

With the Women Techsters Bootcamp, participants will have ample opportunities to learn relevant technology skills, jump-start their careers, or fill in knowledge gaps caused by emerging technologies. A two-week intensive digital skills training program led by experienced facilitators for girls and women from all over Africa, it is called Digital Empowerment.

There is also a Women Techsters Fellowship, a one-year coding program for young females, which is open to anyone. Following three months of training, participants will participate in a six-month internship and be enrolled in a mentorship program.

The Fellowship Program provides women with the opportunity to develop their skills and capacity in order to gain access to decent employment opportunities in their fields of interest. The learning paths available for this training include software development, product design (UI/UX), cybersecurity, product management, data science, and artificial intelligence engineering, to name a few examples.

She Hack Africa

She Hacks Africa is a hands-on coding and product design bootcamp that aims to instill confidence in African youth so that they can act as change agents and technology innovators in their communities, as well as equip them with the necessary skills to start technology businesses. She Hacks Africa is a project of the African Youth Foundation.

Workshops will teach women how to get started with coding, as well as how to improve their employability and entrepreneurship skills, as well as their leadership and productivity skills, by learning to code. Additionally, it will instruct them on how to host their websites and develop applications for them. The courses cover topics such as full stack development, user interface and user experience design, artificial intelligence, and mobile application development. The application

Afro-Technology Girls

Girls and young women's participation in STEM fields is the goal of Afro-Tech Girls, a Nigerian non-profit organization founded in 2015 with the mission of increasing girls and young women's participation in STEM fields.

Every summer, ATG organizes a bootcamp for young women in Nigeria that focuses on integrating STEM learning into their everyday activities. Throughout the two-week Bootcamp experience, participants are expected to develop designs that address societal issues and challenges.

The goal is to instill in young girls an appreciation for themselves as assets to their immediate communities and as solution creators, as well as a sense of pride in their accomplishments. You can find them on this page.

Women who want to pursue careers in technology must be self-motivated and committed in order to be successful. It will take time, as it will with anything worthwhile. Individuals and organizations have benefited from the efforts of these communities, which have ensured that they receive the necessary support and resources to succeed.