The first batch of girls enrolled in Unilever East Africa's project meant to empower beneficiaries with technical skills to address knowledge gap in engineering, science and technology have graduated.
The 26 girls drawn from Mathare Slums graduated after a 12 week mentorship program.
Unilever launched the project in the most marginalized communities, and inspire the next generation of girls digital leaders as part of Africa hackathon.
Last year, 80 girls aged between 11-16 years from marginalized regions across Kenya came together at Unilever Kenya in the first ever hackathon to learn computer programming whilst finding local solutions based on four UN Sustainable Development Goals.
They include quality education, gender equality, industry, innovation, infrastructure, and ‘life on land’.
Speaking during the ceremony, Unilever East Africa managing director Justin Apsey said the programme catered for a section of society that would otherwise not be exposed to such skill sets and inspiration at such an early age.
“Unilever has a simple but clear purpose – to make sustainable living commonplace. We believe this is the best long-term way for our business to grow,'' Apsey said.
