The Problem

Kampala has a bustling and growing tech scene – there is a huge demand for ICT skills from both corporates and start-ups, and not enough supply due to inadequate training opportunities. University courses are not geared towards developing practical work skills.

Existing programmes in the region are scare and do not have a focus on connecting talent with local jobs. There are additional challenges for women who lack the confidence and conviction to pursue male dominated careers.

Solution

Code Queen partnered with The Innovation Village (a local start up hub) to bring a high quality course training young Ugandan women in coding, equipping them with the skills to find jobs in software development and STEM careers.

The course not only focuses on developing hard coding skills (in collaboration with local businesses), but also developing other attributes such as positive mind set and work readiness. It ends with a hackathon where students solve real time challenges for local businesses leading. Successful graduates are offered internships, scholarships and other linking opportunities through their ecosystem of partners.

The Impact

Code Queen linked 80% of their first cohort to jobs, internships and scholarships. Previous students have also come back to facilitate new cohorts.

Their previous cohorts have resulted in graduates going on to work internationally for Tata and locally at Trustful Trade, Kanzu Code and Laboremus.

They have just finished running their current cohort through COVID-19. Normally students come to the Innovation Village to participate but this became impossible after lock down. They thought they would have to shut the program down due to lack of infrastructure many of these young women face; they can’t afford laptops & data. Despite the challenges, 50% of them managed to show up online every day through agility, resilience, resourcefulness and commitment. They learnt new skills and completed a hackathon challenge set by Safe Boda (theirr previous partners include Prudential Uganda and Fenix International). They are now working on linking successful graduates to opportunities that include internships, jobs and scholarships. And once lock down ends, thet look forward to reserving those that are just not able to make it online.

https://www.etc.education/kampala