PH
Lagos – Local youngsters will join their counterparts from ten other countries to participate in a programme that aims to address the digital skills gap in many areas in Africa.
The programme is the brainchild of SAP, the German software firm, which has launched the initiative under the auspices of the IT Skills Development Programme.
The IT Skills Development Programme will culminate in the inaugural Africa Code Week (ACW) that will take place in October.
The initiative will enable an estimated 20 000 children across the continent, ranging from eight to 24 years, to participate in software coding workshops across 11 African countries: South Africa, Angola, Cameroon, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Togo and Tunisia.
Also Read:WEF attracts $68bn investments to Africa
SAP Africa Chief Executive Officer, Plfungwa Serima, said the organisation was proud to be part of the Africa Code Week programme.
“This will help provide African youth with the critical skill set required in the highly competitive 21st century job market. This exciting effort supplements our Skills for Africa initiative that is promoting both skills development and job creation across the continent.”
ACW has been developed together with Simplon.co, the Cape Town Science Centre and the Galway Education Centre, with the purpose of empowering youth, teachers and parents with the language of software programming to help bridge the digital skills gap across many areas in Africa.
The launch coincides with the commencement of the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa, which starts today in Cape Town, South Africa
