Dear Friends,
I reflect with awe and gratitude on all the important work we were involved with during 2015. We would never have been able to accomplish so much this year without your continuous support and your genuine optimism about the work that we do and its importance.
Youth for Technology Foundation (YTF) is all about the people we serve and our focus on creative, practical solutions to pressing problems: bridging the skills gap for youth to ensure they stay in school, gain viable employment and compete confidently in the 21st century job market; and providing women entrepreneurs with technology, financial capabilities and business skills so they can grow their businesses and keep their communities viable. We are all about youth and women living, going to school and working in developing world communities. This is our DNA and we are always, always pushing further.
2015 has been a year of incredible milestones at the Foundation. We understand that, for those at the bottom of the pyramid, it is paramount that we co-design programs they want to see and that are useful and affordable, since value creation is paramount. This year, our programs have grown significantly and we have deepened our activities across the five countries where we work. We have taken a laser-focused approach to forming partnerships with global leadership, like-minded organizations in civil society, the private sector and the public sector to help youth improve their learning outcomes and to empower entrepreneurs to expand their businesses while scaling their impact. We have very exciting plans to continue to serve our clients – youth and women – living in marginalized communities in the developing world this year.
Recognizing the value and impact of strategic partnerships, YTF initiated several exciting collaborations this year. We have been selective in partnering with companies whose business strategy is geared towards the development of products and services that address the problems of poverty. Our work in technology education and entrepreneurship continues to be recognized around the world, as we were featured in both Legatum Institute’s Africa Prosperity Report (pg. 10/Case Study: “Improve the Role of Technology in the Education System in Nigeria”) and MIT Innovations (pg. 73/Case Study: “Pioneering the Youth and Technology Movement in Africa and Beyond”) this year. We are proud of the contributions that YTF has made to the education, entrepreneurship and technology innovation communities, and we are very excited about what lies ahead.
I want to take a moment to reflect on all the exciting work we have done together this year across our four pillars: Education, Health, Entrepreneurship and Agriculture.
Education
It always brings a smile to my face when I hear stories about our programs producing real outcomes.
For example, we partnered with state libraries in Nigeria as part of a program to deliver digital literacy training. In 2015, we equipped 513 students with digital literacy and entrepreneurship skills through our Learning and Libraries project (“Project LLP”). Moses, one of our students, was hired almost immediately as a teacher in a local secondary school, thanks to the skills he acquired in the program. Meanwhile, our She Will Connect program in Nigeria delivered incredible results by providing digital literacy skills to 12,023 girls and women this year. Precious, a mechanical engineering student and a participant in the program, wants to create job opportunities for young women like her.
Our partnerships included universities, secondary schools and country Ministries for youth and women. Our variety of partnerships ensured that our reach was far-reaching and sustainable. We adopted a gender lens in our work and making sure the girls and women we work with have equal opportunities and the right skills to be in the driver’s seat of their own development. YTF Academy continues to deliver results—we incorporated new classes based on industry needs and replicated without diluting the quality of the program.
We launched 3D Africa to inspire a maker movement across the continent and transform user-economies into producer economies. We believe that young people should be inspired to create the world they want to see. 3D printing is one way to encourage STEM education, equip engineers with an additional set of skills and encourage entrepreneurship. Amarachi, a 15-year-old participant, modeled a beautiful customized pendant for her school, and Esther, another student, demonstrated a passion for human-centered design. As pioneers in this space in Nigeria, look out for exciting developments we will be sharing in the first quarter of 2016.
Irene is 16 and participates in YTF’s 3D Africa Girls Hub in Kenya. An only child, she lives with her mom in Ukuru Kwa Njenga. Her mom works doing laundry for commercial outfitters. Irene credits the training she receives at YTF as having helped her to think outside the box and to dream of what she wants her life to look like. “I want to be a computer engineer,” she said. “It’s fun and easy.” Irene has learned how to program on Arduino and Raspberry Pi. She has also learned to program using Scratch. When asked what she would change about her community, she said, “I will remove all the slums and make sure all girls are educated and their mothers can get good jobs so they don’t have to live here”.
Health
In Colombia, 148 girls participated in GirlsRock, an after-school program that teaches displaced girls to use technology to solve the health and community challenges they face in Colombia. One participant, 14-year-old Maura Lizeth, is excited about taking the skills she learned and using social media in an intelligent way to prevent rape in her community.
Entrepreneurship
Our work with Mobile Financial Services for Women in Nigeria equipped 2,314 women entrepreneurs with financial capabilities and business skills, thus allowing them to become a part of the financial services value chain as banking agents. Fatima, one of the women we trained in Kano, has seen an increase in sales in her existing confectionary business since she became a banking agent. “The people that come to register on the platform end up becoming not only my banking clients, but also customers of my current clients. The possibilities to increase my income are endless.” With a smile she added, “My husband was my first banking client.”
The Nigerian Women Entrepreneurs & Mobile Value Added Services program continues to demonstrate remarkable success. 2,214 women entrepreneurs participated in the program. Together, they represented four industries and 12 different states across Nigeria. The program combined classroom learning, industry tours and power hours (networking events). Business skills topics included electronic ID cards (eID), mobile banking and preparing their businesses for capital.
Agriculture
In Uganda, our work with mobile phones and farming has helped 315 women farmers, including Mama Ida from Kasokoso. She can now generate enough income from her produce to keep all her kids in school. Using her mobile phone, Mama Ida is able to access better pricing information and has benefited from daily SMS messages that provide agricultural tips like how to grow vegetables using polythene bags and others.
Although the scope of our work is wide, we never lose sight of how individual contributions change lives and how a simple action can help someone build a better future for his or her family, and ultimately for his or her community. This is just a glimpse of our Foundation’s efforts, and a reminder that we can change things. Be sure to stay up to date on these developments and others in the new year by subscribing to our newsletter, TechDrums.
On behalf of the incredible youth and women we serve, YTF’s board, staff, our partners and hundreds of volunteers around to world whom we touch with our mission, Happy Holidays and thank you for your continued support. As we work to strengthen our partnerships and seek new collaborations, we ask that you consider giving YTF a tax-deductible gift in 2015, if you haven’t done so already. You can read about how 100% of your donation goes directly into our programs. As we finalize plans for next year, your support will help us reach and empower more people in 2016.
With Sincere Gratitude,
Njideka Harry, President & CEO
