Africa | Ethiopia | Technology

Change attitudes for future generations of women in tech, UN urges

Celebrated every year on the fourth Thursday of April, the Day is an initiative of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and aims to encourage and empower girls and young women to consider entering the growing field of ICT, enabling both girls and technology companies to reap the benefits of greater female participation in the sector. This year, falling on 25 April, and with main celebrations happening in the Ethiopian capital, the day was marked across the world. The UN telecomms agency estimates that within the next 10 years, there could be as many as two mi

Africa | Uganda | Health

How Mobile Tech Is Helping Ugandan Women Protect Their Vaginal Health

Source: Good

Nobody likes going to the gynecologist. But for many, that distaste is a luxury—women throughout Uganda and other parts of Africa often lack access to basic gynecological care. That’s why a group of Ugandan students developed a brand new app, allowing women to diagnose themselves from home—without having to meet a doctor. Known as The Her Heatlth BVKit, the new product includes both the app (called Vaginosis) and a reusable pH sensor. Women simply pee into the cup and then use the sensor to detect pH levels. Once detected, the app will tell women whether or not there’s a likely in

Africa | Gambia | Economy

Mobile App Helps Female Farmers In Gambia Connect With Urban Customers

Source: Ubergizmo

Gambia, West Africa-based The Wife Project has launched a new Kickstarter campaign today to create a mobile application and website which is going to help connect female farmers in Gambia connect and sell their produce directly to customers in urban markets. The Wife Project engages 300 rural women farmers in gardening, farming and entrepreneurship to reduce their poverty and helps them create a better life for themselves. Water and seeds are not just some of the problems that these farmers face, instead lack of markets to sell the produce in is a much more pressing issue. Farmers in rural

Africa | South Africa | Business

Meet the woman who will steer Facebook’s first African office

Source: Fin24Tech

Facebook has taken a bold stride towards making its mark in Africa by appointing a South African advertising veteran to spearhead its first African office in Johannesburg. The appointment has certainly received a nod of approval from those championing equality, but Nunu Ntshingila-Njeke is not a quota placeholder. Facebook will look to penetrate the African market fast and furiously – it’s not personal; it’s business. Ntshingila-Njeke has got the goods to make it happen. Earlier this week, Facebook announced her appointment as the new head of Africa.

Africa | Ghana | Education

teen girls code their way to a brighter future

Source: CNN

Every week in the heart of Nima, a slum in the Ghanaian capital of Accra, families congregate at a local mosque. When the time comes, young girls say goodbye to their loved ones and part ways, filing up concrete steps leading up to the floor above. There, inside a large room dotted with brown tables, rows of flashing computer screens await for them. "When the parents are praying [downstairs], we are teaching the girls upstairs," explains tech entrepreneur Regina Agyare, who comes here every week to teach local teens how to code. I decided to set up a coding club and started having reg

Africa | Kenya | Business

Visa denied! How a Broken Dream Triggered This Young Kenyan Entrepreneur

Source: Ventures

The Nairobi Dev School equips youth in East Africa with computer programming skills and helps them build technology-based solutions to everyday challenges. The school was established in 2012 by Martha Chumo, a 21-year-old self-taught programmer, after she was denied a visa to study in the US. Chumo gave up a scholarship to study medicine after bumping into the tech world during an internship. When her attempts to refine her skills in the US failed, she decided to start her own school. The Nairobi Dev School has since conducted skills development training in Kenya, South Sudan and Somalia.