Deadline: 29 February 2020
2020 marks 4th anniversary of Ms. Geek Africa, a competition inspired by Ms. Geek Rwanda, aimed at inspiring more girls into Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) by devising solutions to challenges faced in their community and across Africa.
Finalists undergo an intensive training program conducted by successful entrepreneurs. The training equips them with presentation, public speaking and critical thinking skills to prepare them for the competition.
Smart Africa partnered with Girls in ICT Rwanda to expand the Ms. Geek competition to all member states and they have now crowned three Ms. Geeks hailing from Kenya, Niger and DRC.
All finalists have equal opportunity to learn and prepare for the day, and each of them will go home with a laptop and other prizes. The top three winners will be awarded cash prizes. They also get an opportunity to participate in the Transform Africa Summit where they interact with many industry leaders and their governments. All expenses are covered for all selected finalists.
Eligibility Criteria
- Girls between the ages of 13 and 21 years old.
- Be as a citizen of one of the Smart Africa member states: Algeria, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, DRCongo, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Gabon, Guinea, Kenya, Mali, Morocco, Niger, Rwanda, Sao Tome & Principe, Senegal, South Africa, South Sudan, Togo, Tunisia and Uganda;
- Contestants must be available to travel to The Republic of Guinea between April 19th – 23rd 2020 for training and Transform Africa Summit.
Selection Criteria
- Ms. Geek Africa is selected by a panel of judges upon successful presentation of their solution. She receives a wide range of prizes including a cash reward, phone, laptop, tablet, a trip to an international technology event and more.
- Your application must describe the problem you want to solve, how your solution will solve it, a conceptual design, what technologies you are using/should be used to develop it, key stakeholders, how content will be generated, and shared.
- Your solution must be original or an innovative improvement to existing technologies.
- You must consider that most Africans have limited access to internet and smart devices.
- A graphical presentation must accompany the concept note, demonstrating how the solution will work and an example of the user interface.
How to Apply
- All applications must be submitted in English or French;
- Name the submitted application in this format: YOUR NAME-COUNTRY.
Applications must be submitted at the address given on the website.
For more information, visit https://girlsinict.rw/msgeekafrica
