• The girls were picked from all 47 counties in attempt to bring equality to ICT and STEM
• In Kenya and globally, these sectors are still disproportionately dominated by men
Image: MELINDA KIRWA
Fifty girls aspiring to find careers in STEM and ICT have been selected from all over the country to undergo training through UN Women.
This is part of the continental African Girls Can Code Initiative (AGCCI).
UN Women country representative Anna Mutavati said access to Internet and computer usage in Kenya still favours men.
“We have less young and even older women who are in this space. This is an opportunity to close the gap.”
The two-week course took place at the Kenya High School, Nairobi.
It featured elements of coding, mobile applications, robotics and web development as well as sessions on gender equality and ICT safety.
Kenya joins 10 other African countries that are part of programme, with this being the first time the coding camp has been unveiled in the country.
The other countries are Burundi, DRC, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda.
UN Women selected girls from all 47 counties in an attempt to bring equality to ICT and STEM sectors in Kenya.
In Kenya, these sectors are still disproportionately dominated by men as they are globally.
Mutavati said greater inclusion of women in the digital economy and increased diversity can bring both social and economic value to Kenya.
“We know that the present and future are all going to be determined by technology,” Mutavati said.
She said the best-paying jobs today are in the ICT field, but statistics show that only 30 per cent of graduates come from the STEM field.
“Of the 30 per cent, women constitute a smaller percentage. This will mean that they will not be employed at the same rate as men in this field that is becoming more important to us,” she said.
“Through the camp, some of the girls get a chance to understand how a computer works and the different programmes. This time round, we want to make sure that we have more girls in the back end and not only front users.”
“We are demonstrating to the government that this is something they can do if they really want to close the gender gap in the tech space.”
The AGCCI programme in Kenya was conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, ICT and Genders Affairs.
This is with support from the African Union, International Telecommunication Union and Siemens.
UN Women Economic Empowerment team lead Elizabeth Obanda said for this training, 1,256 girls applied.
The total regional target for the AGCCI programme is 2,000, while the Kenyan target for this year is 100 girls for ages 17-25 years.
Equally, six trainers were also selected and coached in Dar-es-Salaam and Addis Ababa alongside other trainers from the other 10 countries.
She said they expect to engage another team of 50 girls by the end of this year.
“The camp was funded by Siemens, where we received $35,000 (Sh5,066,250) and free laptops that each girl will be carrying home once we have completed the training,” Obanda said.
“The girls will also be taken through a six-month advanced mentorship training by Siemens post-camp.”
Obanda said the initial launch of the programme was done early this year in one of the schools in Kajiado, which was linked to the International Women’s Day activities and sponsored by Nokia.
“We wanted to link the sector players to the girls so they can take advantage of this opportunity and link,” she said.
“Through the four-year programme, all girls from all 11 countries will be linked together, and this will give them an opportunity to grow and learn from each other, get job offerings and get linkages to trainers.”
Image: MELINDA KIRWA
Hailing from Bamburi, Mombasa county, Maria Muneeni, 24, is one of the beneficiaries of the training.
She learnt about the programme through a referral by a close relative who urged her to apply.
As an amputee, Muneeni said she faces a lot of challenges as she is abled differently, but the initiative was a good platform for her.
“When my parents heard that I got selected, they were happy and very supportive,” she said.
“UN Women kept communicating and once I showed them that I was accepted, they did their research, after which they gave me permission to be part of the programme.”
Muneeni is currently a fourth-year student at Strathmore University, pursuing law.
“Having one degree at the moment is not that beneficial. Lawyers are everywhere. I am trying to expand my network and tech is the future,” she said.
“Although I have some beginner background in ICT, I have never coded before. The good thing about this camp is that we are taught everything from scratch and no one is left behind.
“We were even taught about gender equality, sexuality, how women can be empowered to do more in the tech scene.”
For the past few years, Muneeni said, women empowerment has taught young girls that they can do more.
She added that as of now, she feels like there are more women who are coming into this space.
Valin Shesia, 22, from Eastleigh, told the Star said she learnt about the opportunity through a WhatsApp group.
Coming from a single-parent family, Shesia said her mother was very skeptical at first but supported her all through.
“When I told my mother I wanted to apply, she asked me, ‘Are you sure you will be selected?’ I then told her we would keep applying for as many opportunities as we can. If it works out, well and good, if it doesn’t, we try another day,” she said.
“She agreed to write a consent letter on a piece of paper and thereafter, I took a picture with my phone and sent my application. It didn’t matter if the quality was poor.”
As an aspiring digital cartoonist and graphic designer, Shesia said this was a nice opportunity for her.
“A lot of girls become young, single mothers. You will find a girl who is not even 18 years of age but has a firstborn child and by the time she is 24, she has a secondborn,” she said.
“At this point, some go into drugs and others feel like they can do jobs in clubs and get those tips so they can feed their children.
“The cycle doesn’t have to be the same. There are a lot of opportunities for us young girls, and we need to take advantage of them. Everyone has their own destiny.”
Shesia had previously done some coding classes with an NGO by the name Mondo.
It was a five-month training but had its own challenges.
“Sometimes if you lacked bus fare, you missed a class. This meant you miss out on a lot of things, but this is different,” she said.
“I didn’t expect that we would be given free laptops. I really needed one, hence why this is a nice initiative.”
Linet Githii, 19, from Embu county, is also a beneficiary of the training.
She learnt about the coding camp through her elder brother’s friend, who saw the call on X (formerly Twitter).
Joining campus later next month to pursue a bachelor of science in IT, Githii said the camp was a headstart for her career.
“I am passionate about technology as it is very practical and generally interesting,” she said.
“I want to be part of the girls who create a balance in this tech space”