22 African Youth To Compete in Final Round of AfriCAN Code Challenge

The AfriCAN Code Challenge that was launched in August along the 6th edition of SAP Africa Code Week now sees 22 African youth awaiting with bated breath as the final round of judging in the inaugural AfriCAN Code Challenge. The Challenge is a coding competition aimed at engaging participants aged between 8 to 16 years tasked with coding a game using the Scratch programming language to answer the question: “How will your tech change the future of education?”

Youth were able to enter alone or in teams of up to five people, tapping into a wide range of essential skills from problem-solving and coding all the way to teamwork and communications. Each entry had to include a two-minute YouTube video showing how the game works and why it should win.

In total, 40 countries participated and over 100 project videos were submitted. The top three entries made it into the continental final, with 22 countries making it to the final judging stage. The winner is to be announced in January 2021.

According to Claire Gillissen-Duval, Director of EMEA Corporate Social Responsibility and Co-founder of Africa Code Week at SAP, “African youth are highly creative and community-oriented, and have a key role to play in building a safer and better future for the continent. By encouraging learners to innovate at an early age, we hope to inspire them to become change-makers and help find solutions to challenges in their communities, nations and beyond.”

Olajide Ademola Ajayi, Africa Code Week Global Coordinator, adding to Claire’s remarks said the engagement by youth has been inspiring throughout the challenge. “Despite the pandemic disrupting schooling for hundreds of millions of kids across Africa, the continent’s youth have stepped up to share their vision for the future of education. While there can ultimately be only one winner, the quality of entries at the inaugural AfriCAN Code Challenge inspire hope and optimism about Africa’s future, one shaped by the largest youth population in the world.”

The 22 countries that made it through to the final round are Algeria, Botswana, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome & Principe, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia and Zimbabwe.