Empower African Youth in Software Development

Kano, Nigeria — January 7th, 2022

eHealth Africa, a non-profit organization that designs and implements digital health solutions in West Africa has officially launched the third session of the eHealth Africa Academy to build the capacity of local women tech talent to develop online and offline solutions to address problems.

With over a decade of experience developing and deploying digital solutions across Africa and some of the most experienced tech professionals in our team, eHealth Africa is committed to sharing knowledge and empowering the next generation of women to solve local problems using technology and data. 

The eHA Academy project will build the capacity of at least 30 Nigerian women in software development in Kano State, Nigeria. The project is targeting to provide these young women with the necessary theoretical, practical and experience needed for a career in software development. Over $40,000 was already secured in strategic tutoring both online and in-person before the commencement of the GlobalGiving Accelerator campaign. Through the accelerator campaign the project was able to secure an additional $5,304 to support the implementation of at least 1 session of the training.

Since the conclusion of the accelerator campaign, the project team of the eHA Academy has worked to follow up with strategic partners and stakeholders, finalizing the Session One work plan and also selecting participants  for both mentors and prospective students alike.

ACTIVITIES COMPLETED

In line with the activities outlined in the Academy Workplan, the following activities were completed;

• Applications opened and cohort selection

Applications for the cohort opened on November 19, 2021  and closed on December 10, 2021. We received 794 female applications during that time period and 44 mentors. The final cohort was selected after a problem solving assessment test and a competency self- assessment.

• Engagement and onboarding of strategic partners
  We engaged and onboarded strategic partners who donated in-kind support to the Academy between November 12, 2021 and December 17, 2021.These partners will provide x,y, and z. Strategic partnerships with the following partners were secured:

1. Afrilabs
2. First Founders
3. Tech4Dev
4. Women Who Code
5. Start up Kano

UPCOMING ACTIVITIES 

In the coming weeks the eHA Academy project management team will finalise screening and selection of participants and mentors and launch onboarding activities. 

LESSONS LEARNED AND GOOD PRACTICES

• Planning meetings were held on a weekly basis, this supported the implementation of tasks and priorities as tracked on ASANA
• The relevant stakeholders were informed on time and reminded periodically
• Mentor intake surveys were developed and sent out early in the process and multiple times 
• Project work plan was developed in time and discussed regularly at weekly meetings
• Communications content were also developed and shared via relevant social media channels