GIRLS IN ICT AT THE FRONT OF AFRICA'S NEXT GENERATION OF INNOVATION

A Conversation with Gaëlle Nsengiyumva

On Girls in ICT and the Miss Geek Africa programme

In this conversation, Gaëlle Nsengiyumva, President of Girls in ICT Rwanda, discusses the organisation's work to increase the participation of girls and young women in science and technology. Founded in Rwanda in 2011 and run largely by volunteers, Girls in ICT operates through mentorship programmes, school outreach, and initiatives that encourage girls to develop solutions to real-world challenges using technology. At the centre of its work is Miss Geek Africa, the organisation's flagship annual competition. Now organised in partnership with the Smart Africa Alliance, the programme has become a continental platform showcasing African girls building technology for their communities.

"Technology is really the biggest equaliser," says Gaëlle Nsengiyumva, President of Girls in ICT Rwanda.

Yet equal opportunity in the technology sector does not happen automatically. Across Africa and around the world, the field continues to be widely perceived as male-dominated. Girls in ICT was created to challenge that perception.

"Girls in ICT is an NGO that was started in December 2011 by a group of women professionals and students who were passionate about STEM and wanted to inspire more girls to join the field," Nsengiyumva explains.

The initiative was launched in collaboration with Rwanda's Ministry of ICT as part of activities linked to the International Telecommunication Union's global Girls in ICT Day. While the event initially marked a single day in the global technology calendar, the founders envisioned something more permanent. "The idea was not only to celebrate Girls in ICT Day," Nsengiyumva says, "but also to create a year-round initiative that could inspire girls to join STEM fields and challenge the perception that technology is only for men."

Today, the organisation operates largely through a volunteer network of women working in technology, education, and related industries. Its activities include mentorship programmes, outreach in secondary schools and universities, training sessions in digital skills, and networking opportunities for young women interested in science and technology. Many of its programmes focus on girls between the ages of 13 and 21, corresponding to secondary school and early university levels, stages where the gender gap in technology fields often begins to emerge.

A COMPETITION DESIGNED TO TURN IDEAS INTO SOLUTIONS

Among the organisation's initiatives, one programme has become particularly visible. "Miss Geek is our flagship project," Nsengiyumva says.

The competition was first launched in Rwanda in 2014 as Miss Geek Rwanda, inviting girls to design technological solutions addressing challenges in their communities. "What it does is encourage girls to look around in their communities, see what problems they have, and think about how they can leverage technology to solve them," she explains.

Projects emerging from the programme span a wide range of sectors, including agriculture, education, healthcare, and financial inclusion. In recent years, artificial intelligence has increasingly become part of these solutions. For the 2025 edition, the competition focused specifically on AI-driven projects, encouraging participants to explore how emerging technologies could be applied to areas such as healthcare, traffic management, agriculture, and e-commerce.

Participants submit project ideas or prototypes addressing real-world challenges. Applications come from countries that organise national Miss Geek competitions, as well as from individual applicants across member states of the Smart Africa Alliance. The selection process ultimately identifies ten finalists, who are invited to refine their ideas during a boot camp before presenting them to a panel of judges.

INSIDE THE BOOT CAMP 

For many participants, the boot camp is where the most significant transformation takes place. "We don't expect a product-ready idea when they apply," Nsengiyumva explains.

Finalists spend roughly two weeks in an intensive training programme, working with mentors and coaches specialising in business development, communication, and entrepreneurship. The goal is to improve the technical aspects of their projects while also preparing them to communicate their ideas clearly to investors and partners. "How do you turn this idea into a business that helps you, but also helps your community?" Nsengiyumva asks.

The process can be intimidating. "We've had boot camps where girls cry throughout because it's nerve-wracking," she says. "Public speaking is difficult even for adults, so you can imagine what it's like for someone who is 13 years old."

Yet the transformation over the course of the programme is often remarkable. "You can really see the girls transformed," Nsengiyumva says. "They become more confident, they can express themselves better, and they learn how to handle their nerves."

FROM RWANDA TO THE CONTINENT  

The programme expanded beyond Rwanda in 2017, following a partnership with the Smart Africa Alliance, a pan-African initiative created to accelerate digital transformation across the continent. Through this collaboration, the competition became Miss Geek Africa, bringing together participants from across Smart Africa's member states, now numbering more than forty countries. "We've had winners from over ten countries across the continent," Nsengiyumva says.

Finalists present their projects during the Transform Africa Summit, one of Africa's largest gatherings focused on digital innovation and policy. The summit operates on a rotating model, with Rwanda hosting every other year while another African country hosts in the alternate year. In 2025, the summit took place in Conakry, Guinea. For participants, the event provides an opportunity to pitch their ideas and connect with policymakers, investors, and technology leaders from across the continent. "There have been several partnerships created just from people sitting in the room and hearing what the girls are pitching," Nsengiyumva notes.

THE 2025 WINNER  

Among the finalists of the 2025 edition was Branice Kariza, a Kenyan software engineering student at the African Leadership University (ALU) in Kigali. Her project, SignVerse, uses artificial-intelligence-powered avatars to translate spoken or written language into sign language in real time. "The winner for Miss Geek Africa 2025 is from Kenya but actually studies here in Rwanda at ALU as a software engineer," Nsengiyumva explains.

The project stood out for its focus on accessibility. "It really fosters inclusivity for hearing-impaired communities and helps them rely less on interpreters," she says. Judges saw the project as having strong potential to develop into a social enterprise capable of scaling its reach.

A GENERATION OF YOUNG INNOVATORS 

The competition that year produced a range of projects that reflected the breadth of challenges across the continent. Flore Obedine, from Cameroon, who studied software engineering at the African Leadership University and is currently completing a Master of Science in Information Technology at Carnegie Mellon University Africa, developed Multiscan AI, a diagnostic system designed to identify diseases such as malaria through the analysis of microscope images. The project aims to support healthcare systems in areas where medical specialists and laboratory infrastructure are limited. Béatitude Bak, from Chad, a student in Leadership and Entrepreneurship at the African Leadership University (ALU), created Edu Smart AI, a platform designed to support education in rural communities where internet access and school infrastructure are often limited. The system is intended to run on solar-powered tablets and connect students, teachers, and parents through a shared digital platform.

For Nsengiyumva, projects such as these reflect the core philosophy behind the programme. "The objective was to showcase that girls can be part of providing solutions and not just consumers of technology," she says.

AFRICAN SOLUTIONS TO AFRICAN CHALLENGES 

The Miss Geek ecosystem has produced a wide range of projects over the years. Among the most notable is Selasi Domi-Kuwornu, who developed Kasa-Cash, a voice-enabled mobile-money solution designed to help underserved communities carry out financial transactions independently. The project later evolved beyond the competition stage, with collaborations in Ghana exploring its use as a voice-based mobile money product.

Equally significant is the story of Salissou Hassane Latifa of Niger, who won the Miss Geek Africa 2018 title with Saro, a first-responder application designed to guide users through basic first-aid steps while waiting for emergency services. "She had presented a first responder app that helps guide you on the first aid responses to put in place while waiting for the ambulance to arrive," Nsengiyumva recalls.

Latifa later expanded her work through social-impact projects addressing youth employability and inequalities affecting girls. "That's only a few that have gone on to really be successful afterwards," Nsengiyumva says. "But there's several of them."

BEYOND THE COMPETITION 

For many participants, Miss Geek Africa becomes the first step into a broader ecosystem. "Many girls first hear about Girls in ICT through the Miss Geek competition," Nsengiyumva explains.

After the event, the organisation continues to engage participants through mentorship programmes, networking activities, and connections with women already working in the technology sector. "We try to connect the girls with women who are successful in those sectors," she says. The goal is to address what many in the technology world describe as the leaky pipeline, the tendency for women to leave STEM careers despite increasing participation in education. "We hope to be part of fixing the leaky pipeline and retain women in the sector," Nsengiyumva says.

CHANGING PERCEPTIONS 

For Nsengiyumva, the long-term reach of programmes such as Miss Geek Africa goes beyond individual projects. One measure of success is the continued growth of girls entering STEM fields across Africa. Another is the shift in how young women see themselves. "The mindset shift is important," she says. "Beginning with the confidence that you can solve problems using technology."

Beyond the individuals involved, she believes the programme contributes to reshaping how African innovation is perceived globally. "There's often a stereotype when it comes to the continent and technology," she says. "But initiatives such as this help showcase what African talent can do, especially the girls on the continent." At events such as the Transform Africa Summit, where participants come from around the world, the projects presented by Miss Geek finalists serve as a reminder of the continent's growing technological potential. "It's a good way to show African solutions to African problems."