A non-profit organization with a goal to enable real impact in Africa by grooming a smarter generation of leaders, Africa Agility, recently concluded its three-week intensive training Bootcamp for 100 undergraduates and unemployed female graduates in Lagos and its environs in a bid to empower the participants with a strong foundation towards building a career in Tech as computer programmers and techpreneurs.

Participants were awarded the Certified Scrum Master certification from the leading Agile organization in the world after completing the 2-day intense training facilitated by experts in the field of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, UI/UX, Web Development, Product Design, and Data Science.

The last week of the camp was an innovative hackathon challenge using an iterative product development method in an attempt to solve Lagos State complex problems (traffic, waste management, and e-healthcare) and design digital solutions that help to achieve any of the SDG. The Bootcamp was concluded with a “show and tell” of the innovations and the presentation of prizes to the top three.

Commenting on the initiative, Founder, Africa Agility, Aanu Gopald said: “With the world increasingly settling into the post-digital era, there is a dire need to equip the next generation of leaders, particularly our young women with digital skills that are becoming even more critical to sustainable social and economic growth.”

The NGO is steadfast in its efforts to close the gender gap in the technology industry by helping girls access training and educational opportunities in technology, and digital agile practices.

“There is a high level of gender inequality in the technology industry today, male to female ratio currently stands at about 12%. The gender gap in the industry has been the case for several years now whilst the industry has failed in addressing a much more prevalent issue that is to show tech that women equally belong in tech too.” Aanu added.

The intensive training Bootcamp themed, ‘It’s Bigger Than Coding’ which took place at the Eko Innovation Centre; LASU Innovation hub; and Mind the Gap hub was a collaborative effort between Africa Agility, Lagos state government, Scrum Alliance, Lagos state University, Genesis studios, Mind the Gap, Agile Alliance, and the Women in Machine Learning and Data Science.

In recognition and appreciation of partners, Aanu said:

“The role of our partners in the success of this initiative cannot be overemphasized. We are grateful for your support in making this edition reality and more so in impacting the lives of these young women. We look forward to working with you in the future and many more collaborations on upcoming editions. It is our goal to empower 1000 young women in a year with digital skills.”

Africa Agility over the years has embarked on several initiatives in line with its vision of a dignified smarter and brighter future for children or youths of the underserved community and the entire continent as a whole.

These include STEM for Rural Areas; Agile in Higher Education; Agile Philanthropy; and Girls in Technology.

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