More Than Just Code

Since starting up in Nigeria in 2018, the Kayode Alabi Leadership and Career Initiative, has reached about 6400 rural teenagers through their Skill2Rural bootcamp project. The multi-day bootcamp rotates between a selected school, internally displaced persons camp, or a community center. Participants have co-created about 70 prototypes to minimize issues related to poverty and unemployment within their communities.

The ReDI School of Digital Integration offers free technology classes to women with migrant and refugee backgrounds, as well as career resources such as mentorships, company visits, talent matching, and internship opportunities. More than 500 students have participated in the school's Denmark-based programs.

BitLab Innovation Hub offers a STEM program geared at out-of-school children, which provides hands-on training to prepare them for careers in technology. The school has trained 105 children so far.

Jirogasy developed solar-powered computers and, maximizing a partnership with an education NGO, has helped expand computer access among rural schools without access to a grid. Using internationally-funded grants, they created the Jirodesk II, a Windows 10 powered PC that can be powered by the grid or charged via a solar panel. The computers are monitored remotely, which allows users to quickly get tech support, and the company monitors usage in Watt-hours for its “pay-per-use-until-you own model,” where users pay per number of Watt-hours used, and after a certain number of Watt-hours the machine is paid off.

School districts can help students qualify for high-tech careers, regardless of their zip code, through investments in networking and mentoring. Coded by Kids was founded in Philadelphia in 2014 to teach underprivileged students computer skills, such as programming and design. Within five years, Coded by Kids has expanded into New Jersey and Delaware, reaching hundreds of kids. The organization has also launched a student-led design firm, Draft Studios.

At a Boston high school, a targeted approach to attract a diverse student body to computer science courses is showing signs of success. By implementing a "computer science-heavy curriculum," and applying the technology to the student's own interests, the diversity of the school is now reflected in the diversity of those enrolled in the courses.

Code Queens is a 10-week hands-on coding course designed to get young women interested in STEM careers. To graduate, students must participate in a hackathon that asks them to solve a real-world business challenge through coding.

LEAP Africa is a Nigerian-based NGO that has helped thousands of students (in 26 Nigerian states and 8 African countries) develop leadership skills through a series of programs in partnership with various universities. Many program graduates have gone on to solve problems in their local communities by implementing their newfound skills, but some students struggle with limited internet access.

WeCodeKC offers educational training and mentorship to help Black and brown students from low-income neighborhoods break into the tech industry. Participants can learn different programming languages, build their own robots, work on cybersecurity projects, get help with internship and job searches, and more.

The Osun Girls Can Code program provides young women with a week of hands-on training in website development, app development, and coding to help bridge the access gap to technology-related jobs in Nigeria.