Teach Tech Innovation to Girls & Women in Tanzania

Over the months we conducted two complementary programs in Arusha. The Innovation Club is an ongoing program that guides young women through a full human-centered design cycle, from empathizing with their communities to defining challenges, ideating, and prototyping solutions and have now selected project ideas to move forward with. The Creative Capacity Building (CCB) Workshop is an intensive program that takes participants from concept to creation through hands-on making and fabrication, developing practical, locally relevant solutions.

Creative Capacity Building (CCB) Workshop

Alongside the Innovation Club, we successfully ran the CCB Workshop cohort. Participants developed and progressed three project concepts:

Compost Turner – A mechanical tool that automates the turning and aeration of compost and manure, producing higher-quality organic fertilizer for smallholder farmers.

Peanut Roasting Machine – A simple, locally built device that enables consistent, even roasting of peanuts, supporting small-scale food entrepreneurs in improving product quality and productivity.

Vegetable Slicer – A hand-operated slicing tool that speeds up vegetable preparation, reducing time spent on food processing for home cooks, market vendors, and small food businesses.

Impact

The CCB Workshop delivered measurable outcomes for its participants:

• 100% female participation, directly promoting gender equity in technology and innovation
• Enhanced technical skills, an innovation mindset, and strengthened entrepreneurship potential among participants

Next Steps

Building on the progress made, the following steps are planned:

• Support prototype improvement following feedback received from community testing –iterating on the CCB workshop prototypes to strengthen their real-world performance.
• Launch the prototyping phase for the Innovation Club – kicking off the first hands-on build sessions with participants now that project selection is complete.
• Continue iterative testing: build, test with community members, gather feedback, refine, and repeat.

Thanks to your support through GlobalGiving, young women in Tanzania are gaining the tools, mentorship, and opportunities they need to become confident problem-solvers and change-makers in their communities. Every project built, every challenge tackled, and every prototypetested is a step toward a future where girls and women lead innovation in Africa.