Education

200 scholarships for female design students in Africa

Young person with blonde hair wearing a blue plaid shirt working on a laptop against a wooden wall.

Fund capital used

$4,970

There is a global skills shortage in design and technical skills. With women accounting for less than 30% of the tech sector in Sub-Saharan Africa, there is significant untapped potential for talent and for creating equity.

Some of the barriers preventing more women from participating in the tech sector include a lack of knowledge, lack of equipment and data, and lack of an accessible entry point.

This project will enable 200 women across Africa to kick-start their careers in design and tech. They will learn design skills on the training programme, access mentors, and be provided resources to help them continue their professional development.

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Local partner:

The Story

We are partnering with Ingressive For Good to bridge the gender gap in African tech.

We will fund scholarships for 200 women across Africa to learn design on the African Women in Design Scholarship Program. 150 of the places the Kwanda villagers will fund will be general scholarships for the over 17,000 women who have applied for the program.

A special allocation of 50 scholarships will be reserved for girls and women in the communities Kwanda’s partners work in.

To date, Kwanda has funded projects in 7 African countries. We are excited for the communities we fund to also benefit from this great opportunity.

Challenge

Some of the barriers that are preventing more women from participating in the tech sector include a lack of knowledge, lack of equipment and data, and lack of an accessible entry point.

Solution

The African Women in Design Program runs for 12 or 24 weeks, depending on which of the three tracks a student enrols in.

Students learn to design websites and mobile application interfaces using Figma on the Product Design track, the principles of design, visual elements and how to use Photoshop on Graphic Design, and how to interpret briefs and create logos, packaging and brand assets on Brand Identity Design.

Training is only the first step of the process. Students will be integrated into a community where they continually receive support as they grow in design. They will receive mentorship and get matched to internship opportunities in companies to help them gain real world experience and continue their development.

Impact

This project will enable 200 women across Africa to kick-start their careers in design and tech. They will learn design skills on the training programme, get access to mentors and be provided resources to help them continue their professional development.

50 of those women will come from the communities Kwanda has funded projects in. Resources and opportunities don’t always reach girls and women in these places, which is why we are particularly excited to be partnering with Ingressive For Good on this programme.

Updates

From the field

The courses are complete

Posted 11 Nov 2021

Good news - all the training courses are now completed. Over the last 8 months, Ingressive For Good trained 1,000 women across Africa in design skills.

We sponsored 200 of those women, with 50 places specially allocated for women from communities we have strong links with: thirty in Zimbabwe, ten in Kenya and ten in Nigeria.

In the end, 46 of those women took up their places and we're glad to update that well over 60% of them have completed their courses. The remaining few will have the opportunity to complete in the next few days.

The next step for these women will be applying the skills they've learned in practical exercises and seeking out professional opportunities with their newfound skills.

Design skills are highly sought after; our hope is that these women will be able to carve out successful careers in this in-demand field.

We'll continue to track their progress and we hope to have some individual stories to share soon.

Women on the August cohort are beginning to complete their courses

Posted 9 Sept 2021

Women on the design course have been working through self-paced online courses in Branding, Graphic Design or Product Design based on their selected path.

Some women - like Martina in Zimbabwe - have already completed this part of the course and have received their course completion certificates.

Monicah in Kenya had this message to share: "The classes so far have been very educational and fun to learn. We are learning the art of visual communication. I have learnt how to use Photoshop and I am making awesome graphics. The most interesting part so far is using clipping masks to make the graphics. I'm so curious to learn more with Photoshop to gain more skills and teach the youth!"

The August cohort will launch in a few days

Posted 6 Aug 2021

The 200 women we sponsored to receive design training are due to start their courses in a few days on Cohort B of Ingressive For Good's Women in Design Program.

50 out of the 200 scholarship places we funded on the program were reserved for women in the communities Kwanda works in.

Thirty of these places have been allocated to women in Zimbabwe via our partners Days for Girls and PCP. Ten have been allocated to women in Kenya via our partners Kenya Connect. The remaining ten places have been allocated to queer women in Nigeria in collaboration with Kwanda villager Ifeanyi Awachie.

Most of the fifty women have taken up their spot. Any unfilled spots will be given to women on the waitlist for the program.

We are excited for the women to begin their training and will share updates as we get them.

Updates from the April cohort

Posted 8 Jul 2021

The 200 scholarship places the Kwanda village funded are allocated for the August cohort of the African Women in Design Program.

The 500 women in Cohort A which launched in April have been progressing with their courses in the meantime. We have received some updates for this cohort. There was a strong uptake of the Product Design course, with 240 women - almost half of the cohort - selecting that track.

More than 75% of all candidates in Cohort A are from Nigeria with the rest of participants coming from a diverse set of countries including Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Rwanda and Malawi.

The candidates are currently working through the practical element, applying the skills they have learned and receiving mentorship to help them advance their skills and begin careers in their chosen fields.

Funds received by Ingressive for Good.

Posted 7 May 2021

We’re excited to be working on this project to sponsor 200 women on Ingressive For Good's African Women in Design Program.

Funds have been received in Nigeria and the April cohort of design students has started their training. The 200 scholars we have sponsored will be on the second cohort starting in August. We will share updates as they come in for both the April and August cohorts.