About Us



About YTF



Get to know YTF

Our mission

YTF’s mission is to create enriched learning
communities where the appropriate use of technology
affords opportunities for marginalized youth and women.

Learn more >

We get results and make a difference

Since 2000, YTF has…

Inspired the creation and expansion of

14,000
businesses

Trained over

1.6 million
youth and women

Inspired economic sustainability in over

4,500
communities
How we make an impact >

Who we are, what we do, and why


Youth for Technology Foundation (YTF) is an international nonprofit organization founded in 2000. We’re a team of passionate optimists driven to help others realize their potential by building lifelong learning skills.

We are a training organization. We provide technology training at the intersection of education and entrepreneurship.

We teach young people how to learn. These lifelong learning skills allow YTF program participants to become economically and environmentally adaptable and resilient. They graduate as flexible, confident individuals ready to take on the future.

What it looks like in practice

Our work addresses gaps in existing silos in the community and educational systems. We run programs that address skills gaps in established education systems, encouraging young people to see entrepreneurship as a viable career. Our training emphasizes STEM subjects to help build the foundation for sustainable career choices. We also provide financial inclusion and business training to empower women with the skills to manage their own lives, households and businesses.

Our flagship program is YTF Academy, a technology training course divided into four age-appropriate curricula. As opportunities arise, we introduce and maintain a variety of other programming.

We pursue anything that empowers youth and women through technology, from long-term efforts like training women entrepreneurs, to yearly, week-long events like 3D Printing Academy for Girls.

A note from our founder

It was 17 years ago, from a cubicle at Microsoft that a few friends and I decided we wanted to do something.
Read Njideka’s letter

Meet more of our team >

Our Partners

We partner with leaders in technology and global education to further advance our mission.
























 

Our research

YTF provides original data, analysis, and insights on trends, with a focus on how people access and use these services for transformation.
Learn more about our research >

More about us

If you want to understand more about who we are, what we do, why and for whom, check out answers to some frequently asked questions about YTF.
FAQ >

Where we work

SOUTH
AMERICA

NORTH
AMERICA

AFRICA

Who we serve: Youth in rural areas.

What we do: Develop basic digital literacy training that address
factors contributing to unemployment and poverty in the region.

Where: Colombia

Why: Of Colombia’s 13 million young people, 4.5 million are idle;
neither enrolled in school nor employed. Youth represent more
than half of the registered unemployed, and most young people
that work do so in precarious jobs. The lack of employment, education,
and entrepreneurship opportunities for Colombian youth is closely tied
to the conflict in poor, rural areas.

South America

Where We Work

Learn more about our work in Colombia

Back to where we work

Who we serve: Underserved, economically disadvantaged
individuals and communities in the U.S., particularly middle school age girls.

What we do: Develop programs that provide technology training
and inspire STEM careers and education.

Where: USA

Why: Adolescent years are the most precarious for girls living in the U.S.
Many of them do not sustain their interest in STEM topics during their
middle school years. Providing STEM- and technology-infused academic
enrichment programs increases their interest and helps connect girls
with sustainable career choices.

North America

Where We Work

Learn more about our work in Louisville

Back to where we work

Who we serve: Youth and women in rural and urban areas.

What we do: Develop programs that empower youth
and women, giving them technology tools to succeed
in education or as entrepreneurs.

Where: Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda

Why: There have been transformative developments
in Africa’s information communications technology (ICT)
sector in the last decade, presenting viable opportunities
to equip and empower the continents’s fast-growing
unemployed youth population and women with
appropriate technology.

Africa

Where We Work

Learn more about our work in Uganda

Learn more about our work in Nigeria

Learn more about our work in Kenya

Back to where we work

Learn more about where we work >

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© 2013 – forever | privacy policy | YTF is a 501c3 non profit company. | Made with ❤ on earth…