Be the Light

Fighting against “Girls Tech phobia”, creating the next generation of women tech solvers by developing an ecosystem of innovation that sparks and sustain girls interest in technology fields through: 1) customized high-tech training curriculum laying on problem-solving & design thinking, 2) international mentoring platform laying on strong role-models.

PROBLEM STATEMENT:

How to reduce the gender gap in tech fields? How to empower girls (especially in sub-Saharan and similar ecosystems) to be in front of the digital revolution in order to become autonomous, competitive and productive members for the socio-economic growth of their respective area thank to digital technologies?

Our proposal has shown some clear success stories. It combines:

• an after-school tech incubator with a customized, well tested curriculum (over the last 2 years) laying on problem-solving and design-thinking approaches: empowers girls with high-tech competencies and attitudes to design, carry innovative IT long-term solutions addressing SDG’ issues.
• a platform of personalized mentoring for girls including strong role models:  constructs a positive ecosystem that breakdown stereotypes and empower egalitarian mindset.
• an innovative methodology: Learn, Practice, Create, Solve & Have Fun: infuses to our girls in their young the passion of using technologies as a fun and powerful tool.

Our principal target is made of young high-schools girls. Our proposal includes three activities with the corresponding outcomes:

• after-school tech incubator ==> high-school girls (with competitive tech skills and leading mindset) who produced innovative IT MVPs with appropriate business models. The best projects will be automatically incubated.
• Personalized mentoring through an international online platform and regular off-line meetings ==> at least 70% girls enrolled will choose STEM as academic/professional tracks.
• TV shows: to showcase our girls success stories and IT know-how that will inspire and sensitize others girls who don’t have access to internet or to our physical hub.

Track registrations, follow-up in our different hubs - 5 000 girls tech leaders enrolled in our school tech incubator (from 05 countries) and 10 innovative IT MVPs incubated by 2020

Track subscriptions registered and regular mentoring evaluations through "Be the Light" our international online mentoring platform - 20 000 girls enrolled in the mentoring platform by 2020

TV channels statistics reports - 50 000 000 girls reached through our TV shows by 2020

We offer a unique 5-in-1 opportunity to girls: "Learn, Practice, Create, Solve & Have fun! ». To reduce the gender gap in tech industry, we went to root of the problem: fighting against “girls’ tech phobia”. At their early age, we infuse girls with the passion of solving quantified problems with IT technologies that they start seeing as a fun, powerful tool.

We don’t just empower them with high-tech competencies, right attitudes, we put an incubation mechanism that mentored their IT projects until they fit the market. That is already the case of 3 girls aged from 12 to 16.

• For a girl enrolled in our program, the first question she is asked is " What is that thing you’re so passionate about or problem you would like to solve?". Tech skills taught are a component that help her to build a solution to the issue close to her heart.
• We took 02 years to design a curriculum adapted to girls who followed the Cameroonian background. We can replicate this design process other ecosystems.
• Mentoring platform: The idea is to do a personalized match between the girl and a role-model with who she shared more than a professional ambition

• Our After-school technical program has an average duration of 80 hours and average cost of 100 USD
• The mentoring platform will be accessible online. Each mentee will pay 15 USD per year to have access to our online resources & opportunities, chats with mentors, free access to our meetings and conferences, etc…
• TV Shows will be displayed firstly through national TV channels. Accessible for free to Our end Target (girls)

After an investment evaluated at  340 000 USD we will be autonomous by 2 years.

We are partnering with the Ministry of Secondary education, Promotion of Women and the Ministry of Post & Telecommunications for them to fund and offer scholarships to girls who can not afford to pay for the after-school personalized technical training.

• The main factors we are facing are parents / siblings who are still stereotyping tech fields in our countries and who still discouraged their girls

https://www.facebook.com/caysti/?ref=ts&fref=ts

http://www.ticmag.net/arielle-kitio-jai-ete-bluffee-simplicite-pragmatisme-de-vera-songwe-de-jack/

To achieve our objectives in term of impact (and to be autonomous by 2019), the main risks is the payment of training fees by parents. As we want it to be lower as possible (to give a chance to every youth), we have to work on increasing the number of trainees and therefore invest more in logistical equipment & marketing. Winning the Solve Award will absolutely help in achieving that.

Besides, Solve is a prestigious award that will broaden our networks with whom we will collaborate to have bigger impact. This award will also give to CAYSTI more exposure.

• - National school of Advanced Engineering (Yaounde Cameroon) - Technopole
• - Local startups for incubation (Will&Brothers, Kiro'o, Gifted Mom)  and NGO  (Girls in Tech Cameroon, Google Developers Group Cameroon) working in innovation and education fields
• - Ministry of Post of Telecommunications, Ministry of Scientific Research
• Some strategic high-schools
• ...