This is a guest blog written by Josephine Ndambuki, Senior Transmission & IP support Engineer, Safaricom.

Globally, women tend to be less likely than men to work in the tech and telecoms industries, and this is particularly true in Africa, where the number of women working in the ICT sector are at a staggering low.

Determined to try and make a difference, in October 2013  I met with members of TechWomen, an initiative that, through mentorship and exchange, strengthens participants’ professional capacity, provides mentorship and offers participants the ability to expand their professional network. My colleagues and I from Safaricom were hosted in the Silicon Valley by fellow Kenyan Anar Simpson, a TechWomen mentor and the Global Ambassador for Technovation, a global technology entrepreneurship programme for girls. Together with Dr. Wanjiru Kamau Rutenberg, Executive Director for Akili Dada, we decided to launch the Technovation program in Kenya.

Technovation challenge Pitch and award ceremony Launch campaign.

Safaricom, the company I work for, seemed to be the perfect starting point to trigger a behaviour change around women in tech. First, it was clear to us that, if we wanted more women to work in technology, we had to create a pipeline of girls passionate about STEM subjects. Second, we wanted to encourage girls who were currently studying STEM subjects to work in telecoms. Finally, we identified the need for a mentorship programme in order to foster, attract and retain female talents.

With this in mind, we launched the Safaricom Women in Technology (WIT) network to address the challenge of the limited numbers of women working in technology. It addresses the pipeline women in technology through outreach to schools and universities, including a high school mentorship program and a formal three month internship program, as well as a networking forum for women in tech industry to network and grow. Technovation, in partnership with Akili Dada, complimented our high school outreach program by providing a three month formal tech entrepreneurship training for girls mentored by Safaricom staff. It was the first time that such an initiative would take place in Kenya, and we couldn’t be more proud. Safaricom’s leadership support and commitment at the C-level (CEO Bob Collmore became a real champion for the cause) was crucial to help us kick-off this initiative.

Months of hard work paid off – the 2014 program was a success, and about 300 students from schools around Nairobi and some of the neighbouring cities participated to the initiative. The students learned how to develop mobile apps using the MIT App inventor application, received training on how to create a business plan for their apps and also learned how to pitch their applications to potential investors. Finally, we ran a career workshop day where the students visited the Safaricom office to understand what working in a tech company really looks like and to get some mentorship guidance on their apps. We concluded the program by a pitch and awards ceremony conducted at Safaricom Michael Joseph center, graced by a host of tech innovators in Kenya including the Chandaria incubation center, ihub, Google Kenya, funkids, among others.

Round one judging of the Technovation challenge apps – 2014

The Technovation challenge continues to grow thanks to the support of our company leadership and the multitude of women mentors passionate about mentoring the next generation of tech women. Through the program we are forging strong relationships with women in tech in Silicon Valley, and this is crucial to understand the global movement around the inclusion of women in technology.

Technovation 2014 award ceremony, Angela Wamola and Purity Kagwiria from Akili Dada present the trophy with the Winning team, team Wabuni from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology

“Participation in the Technovation program has grown both deep and wide globally over the last four years. We hope to reach girls in every country in the world by 2018 and it is only with partnerships and collaboration with like-minded folks that we will achieve that vision. The Women in Technology group at Safaricom is a superb example of how teamwork across continents can make a difference to young women and encourage them to pursue careers in the technology field”, said Anar Simpson, Special Advisor, Office of the Chair Women, Girls and Technology, at Mozilla.

Support from the Safaricom leadership, collaboration with Technovation and Akili Dada and a strong link to the Silicon Valley were the key elements to the success of the Safaricom Women in Technology initiative.

While the 2014 and 2015 Technovation challenge reached over 700 participants representing 47 counties in Kenya, we are already looking forward to the 2016 challenge, hoping for an even higher participation from young females.

“I am very proud and impressed by the passion, the realizations and the achievements that Safaricom’s WIT has shown in the past 3 to 4 years since inception. It shows the power of determination and is a true source of inspiration for all of us in Technology. I love their all-inclusive approach reaching to all corners of the country to showcase our job and demystify technology to school girls. The WIT ambition formulated as “From the classroom to the boardroom” is very powerful and I have no doubt it will continue to raise the standards and promote more diversity and inclusion in the team. I am a full supporter” said Thibaud Rerolle, Director of Technology at Safaricom

Technovation Kenya champions include: the Incredible WIT champions from Safaricom, led by Angela Wamola; Safaricom Leadership team led by our CEO Bob Collymore, Director Technology Thibaud Rerolle; Technovation Challenge Kenya Coordinators: Veronica Ogutu, Martha Githui, Joan Njeri, Ann Cheboi among others; Fellow TechWomen Alumni: Umi Mohamed and the many Men for WIT (HEforSHE) mentors.

*Banner image:
November 2013 – TechWomen Dinner event: From LtoR: Anar Simpson , Josephine Ndambuki, Purity Kagwiria, Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg, Emma Ndoringoma, Mary Simiyu, Shea Morrissey.

**Photos courtesy of Safaricom WIT.