DotConnect Africa Announces 2018 Miss.Africa Seed Funding for Women in Technology

0
161
Sophia Bekele,  CEO of DotConnectAfrica
Sophia Bekele,
CEO of DotConnectAfrica

DotConnect Africa (DCA) has announced the opening of entries for the third round of the 2017/2018 Miss.Africa Seed Funding initiative to support tech start-ups expand their capacity and create further socio-economic value for women by effectively leveraging tech opportunities in Africa.

This is the third round of the pioneering Miss.Africa Digital Program, a pan- African campaign, tagged #SheAppsAfrica.

The Miss. Africa Seed Fund aims to give out the sum of US$7000 in grants to support women and girls in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields to launch and develop their own initiatives that will increase digital opportunities in Information Technology relating to training, jobs and leadership roles.

With high level of success in the past years, hundreds of women have benefited from the Miss.Africa Seed Funding. The programme expect the number to increase by the end of the year when the 2016/2017 group graduate.

The 2016/2017 winner of the US$5,000 grand prize was awarded to Abocoders, a Nigeria based initiative. Bahir Dar University STEM Center, Ethiopia and Ubongo Game Lab, Zambia both received a sum of US$1,000 each for the second seed fund category.

The second round of Miss.Africa Seed Fund received over 200 applications from 24 countries across Africa. Applications received from Nigeria accounted for 33% of the total followed by 11% from Kenya and 9% from Ghana.

For the first round in 2016, over 90 applicants from more than 18 Countries across the African applied for the Miss.Africa Seed Fund. More than 50 women, selected from over 300 applicants, benefited directly by receiving training from the 2016/2017 Miss. Africa Seed Fund Winner, eMobilis.

To qualify, applicants for the Miss.Africa Seed Fund grant must: currently be residents of an African country (including North and Sub-Saharan Africa); submit application in English Language; be an individual (at least 18 years of age) or a representative of a non-governmental organization (NGO) or social enterprise based in Africa; and have the ability to demonstrate previous experience conducting activities supporting women and girls in computer science or STEM fields.

Other qualification criteria for applicants are that they must be committed to developing and contributing to virtual community for supporting women and girls initiatives; demonstrate leadership potential (references will be required for those applying for leadership funds); and propose projects which have tangible impact for women and girls in computer and/or STEM- related fields.

The deadline for submission of application is November 15, 2017.

Further information can be obtained online from http://dotconnectafrica.org/yes-campaign/miss-africa/miss-africa-2018-seed-funding/