October 7, 2020

RWA Tech Hub – Empowering Girls and Women With Technology Skills

With many businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, some are using the economic downturn to advance technological innovation and e-learning. One startup company in Rwanda has been doing this since 2019, and has set out to equip girls and women with the technology skills needed to succeed in today’s digital world. 

Founded in 2019 by Jennifer Batamuliza, an alumna of the Mandela Washington Fellowship program, RWA Tech Hub empowers girls and women by providing hands-on, interactive learning to help them develop technology and IT skills, which are critical to entry level jobs in this field. 

RWA Tech Hub’s curriculum covers a range of STEM-based programming, focusing on cyber security awareness and training, mobile and web application and design, and public speaking and leadership skills within the IT Sector. 

While classes have transitioned from the classroom to online learning in light of the coronavirus pandemic, this new learning environment has given students a chance to further their technological skills, especially as they are having to navigate technology in a new capacity. 

“What we’ve learned is that everything is possible,” Batamuliza says, reflecting on how she and her team have adjusted to providing an online learning experience while continuing to expand on its curriculum in a remote environment. 

RWA Tech Hub currently focuses on STEM education and learning, but Batamuliza and her team have plans to grow its curriculum, starting with a coding school for primary school children. 

Batamuliza is a 2019 Mandela Washington Fellow. She attended the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) program and Leadership in Public Management at Arizona State University (ASU).