Over 500 000 Africans between eight and 24 years old in 35 countries are learning how to code in this year’s edition of the annual Africa Code Week.

Africa Code Week is held in all corners of the continent every year when events and workshops centred around coding are held for youths.

In the run-up to these events, thousands of teachers have been trained by skilled volunteers from SAP CSR EMEA and ACW Ambassadors across most participating countries.

This year, it runs from 18th to 25th October in partnership with SAP, UNESCO YouthMobile, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Cape Town Science Centre, the Galway Education Centre, and Google.

Africa Code Week was launched in Tanzania this year. “Tanzania is a perfect example of how governments can leverage the Africa Code Week shared-value model and dynamic ecosystem to accelerate schools’ digital transformation and fast-track youth empowerment through ICT across entire nations,” said Claire Gillissen-Duval, Director of EMEA Corporate Social Responsibility at SAP and Global Project Lead for Africa Code Week.

“We are thankful to SAP and Africa Code Week partners for their support in our efforts to boost STEM skills development for our youth, and we look forward to empowering a new generation of digital innovators across Tanzania and Africa at large,” said Joyce Ndalichako, Tanzanian Minister of Education, Science, Technology and Vocational Training.

Celebrating more than a continent-wide education revolution in the making, the launch also shed light on the African female leaders who dedicate their life to improving digital skills and employment perspectives for girls in the digital century. As part of the Africa Code Week, the German Federal Ministry for Cooperation and Development (BMZ) provides micro grants to 20 female tech leaders who organise coding workshops in 17 African countries specifically for girls.