The Technovation challenge commenced a few days back for the year 2016 and teams around Bulawayo are getting geared up for what looks like an epic three months to come.
The Technovation curriculum is free and no previous experience in coding is needed. In the past three years, approximately 60 young women in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe have taken part in the Technovation Challenge with one team making it to the semifinals of the competition. This year the future looks even brighter as students, mentors and even coordinators are excited about building apps for social change.
Technovation alumni from previous years are doing well in reaching out to other young ladies to participate in the program. SheCodes a Tech Company Bulawayo whose founders are University level Technovation Alumni has actually passed on the Technovation experience to the next generation two years in a row, they are at it again this year and they are organizing teams around Bulawayo to take part in the learning experience.
Youths for Innovation Trust member and 2014 Technovation Alumni Nomaswazi took up the task of putting together her own teams this year and discovered another Technovation experience alien to the previous experiences she had with Technovation experience she had had when she was a participant. She had not experienced the thrill of meeting different people from different backgrounds and actually explaining the whole program to stakeholders with a varied understand of a socially oriented tech-entrepreneurship world. Her colleague Mimi also felt a bit challenged by the mobilizing experience but is looking forward to positive responses and a vibrant season.
At the end of the day the Regional Ambassadors of Technovation in Bulawayo are impressed by the works of the young ladies who are reaching out to the younger girls and amplifying their efforts. With a number of players also becoming interested in the Technovation Challenge this year, young ladies are gradually becoming the answer, the missing link in development processes. The Technovation 2016 theme is “Solve a problem in your local community”. Undoubtedly, several problems are going to be addressed by this year’s Technovation Challenge.
- Technomag Zimbabwe