Code Mobile (Teens Can Code)
Lead: Isaac Damian Ezirim Website: www.teenscancode.com.ng Type: Non-Profit Location: Lagos, Nigeria Current Reach: 4 states in Nigeria Budget: 20000 - 50000 USD
PROBLEM Young people in rural Nigeria face marginalization in terms of both the quality of the education they receive and the opportunities they have access to, either because of where they live or the status of their parents. They do not have equal playing ground compared to their counterparts living in urban areas. Around the world, millions of young people are preparing to enter the working world — one that is increasingly being driven by automation and innovation. However, these young people in under-served areas in Africa lack the skills to be prepared for automation.
SOLUTION
IMPACT
Through the CodeMobile project and by setting up mobile technology labs in rural communities, the solution aims to prepare young people for the future and create decent job opportunities in rural Africa. The solution seeks to repurpose a 50-seat bus no longer suitable for transportation and convert it to a mobile technology lab equipped with all the tools needed to teach computer programing. An estimated 100+ young people will be trained every 3 months, and at least 10% would be connected to remote jobs and internship opportunities. The solution has a volunteer base of over 100 software developers. However, 10 volunteers will be on the ground to deliver this project for the two labs.
So far, the organisation has trained 550 young people on computer programming/coding in 20 centers and 5 communities, connected 10 young people to remote jobs and 5 to internship programs, pioneered the first teens technology conference (‘Teens Code Conference’, which is the largest gathering of teenagers for a technology event since its inception in 2016) and reached over 6,000 teenagers in 2 states of Nigeria. The solution has also hosted multiple hackathons over the years that gave seed funding to winners.
ALIGNMENT WITH SDGS Due to its nature as a coding training project, this solution directly works on SDG 4 on quality education, and particularly on Targets 4.4 (which aims to increase access to relevant skills, includingModulusTechnical and vocational skills) and 4.6 (which seeks to increase literacy and numeracy among young people). Consequently, teens that are able to code will then become entrepreneurs or get better jobs (consistent with SDGs 8 and 9). The project thus particularly contributes to Target 8.6, which seeks to reduce the proportion of youth not in employment, education or training.
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