Ms. Geek is a competition designed to inspire African girls to be part of solving the continent’s challenges using technology and encourage them to choose a career in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).
Applications are currently ongoing in the Transform Africa member states; Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Angola, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Chad, Gabon, Mali, Senegal, South Sudan, Benin, Djibouti, Egypt, Guinea, Niger, and Togo – where the best solution from every country shall be selected to the top seventeen (17) by Girls in ICT and Smart Africa Secretariat.
“For the first time we chose to involve our 17 member states in the Ms Geek competition because we believe in gender equality and that great ideas come from both genders. We have the specific effort to end the gender digital divide. We want to increase the participation of women in ICT,” Didier Nkurikiyimfura, Head of Technology and Innovation at Smart Africa Secretariat said in a press statement.
Transform Africa Summit is providing an opportunity for the girls to compete and collaborate with peers as well as participate in dialogues that influence Africa’s digital transformation.
Didier noted that the upcoming summit scheduled will be an opportunity to get the voice of women in ICT hubs and showcase what they are able to deliver in line with the topic ‘smart cities: fast forward’ where the winner will be acknowledged.
The five (5) finalists from the seventeen (17) will undergo a week long intensive development program which equips them with presentation, public speaking and critical thinking skills to ensure they are prepared for competition day where only one will be crowned Ms. Geek Africa 2017.[related-posts]
Eligibility criteria
- Female between ages of 13 and 25 years old.
- Be a citizen of any of the Smart Africa member states: Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Angola, Burkina Faso, Cote d’ivoire, Chad, Gabon, Mali, Senegal, South Sudan, Benin, Djibouti, Egypt, Guinea, Niger, Togo.
- Contestants must be available between 5th – 12th May 2017.
- Contestants must be in Rwanda to attend Ms. Geek training and Transform Africa 2017.
Selection Criteria
- The document must describe the solution in detail, including the conceptual design, what technologies should be used to develop it, the role of various users, how content will be generated, and ultimately how knowledge is transferred.
- The technology solution must be original, but may partially include the integration of existing technologies.
- Please consider that your users will have varying Internet access in terms of how frequently they can use it and which devices they will use (laptop, tablet, mobile phone).
- A graphical presentation must accompany the concept note, demonstrating how the solution will work and an example of the user interface.
How to Apply:
Follow this link to submit your applications.
