Help Tanzanian Youth Make Tech to Help Themselves

Empowering youth through technology

Over the three months, our project has continued to empower Tanzanian youth to design and create technology-driven innovations that address community challenges. Through training, mentorship, and access to our makerspace, young innovators have developed practical solutions in energy, agriculture, and waste management improving livelihoods and inspiring a culture of creativity and problem-solving across communities.

Key Achievements

1. Youth Mentorship - Offering structured mentorship and coaching for youth who visit Twende for assistance, our facilitators work closely with participants to improve their technological innovations, build confidence, and develop the problem-solving mindset needed to bring ideas to life.
2. Access to makerspace and tools - We have provided essential tools and materials to support sustained prototyping and innovation. Access to the makerspace equips young people with the hands-on resources they need to move from concept to working prototype.
3. Development of community-oriented technologies - Participants have designed and built functional, locally appropriate technologies, iterating continuously to ensure they fit the needs of the market.

Standout projects from this cohort include:

• Cocopea Machine
• Vegetable / Fruit Dryer

Current Status: Ideation & Project Concept Development

Having completed the challenge identification phase, participants moved into the ideation stage, applying creative thinking to generate a wide range of possible solutions to the challenges they identified in their communities. Through this process, Innovation Club participants developed five distinct project concepts.

This stage encouraged participants to think boldly and without judgement before narrowing down their ideas. Facilitators supported participants in evaluating their concepts based on community impact, feasibility, and their own passion for solving the problem, setting the stage for the prototyping phase ahead.

Looking Ahead: Innovation Club

Innovation Club will transition from ideation into the prototyping phase. Youth will begin building their first rough prototypes of their chosen project concepts and testing them with real community members. Key upcoming milestones include:

• Introduction to rapid prototyping techniques
• Iteration based on feedback received

The 5 project concepts developed by Innovation Club participants span four sectors that is Healthcare, Agriculture, Energy, and Water/Environment, and the projects include Electric Wheelchair, Fish Scaling Device, Fertilizer Spreader, Tracking of Gas Usage, and Water Purification & Cooling, reflecting the diverse needs and opportunities young people identified in their communities.

These technologies not only address real-world challenges but also highlight the creativity and technical capacity of our participants. Youth are tomorrow's problem solvers and this program is building that future today.