OLC Mugoiri Girls School receives recognition in London for pioneering coding education

The event, which was held on 14th March featured a captivating video highlighting the school's impressive coding initiatives, capturing the audience's attention, and earning well-deserved acclaim.

This recognition coincided with Kodris Africa, an education technology firm offering KICD-approved content for coding education in primary and secondary schools, receiving the Partnership Excellence Award for its remarkable contributions to coding education.

The FLAIRS launch was a Pre-Activation Event which served as a platform for celebrating International Women’s Day collaboration, ahead of the FLAIRS 2024 event, which is scheduled for October 2024, in the UK. 

The event was part of a business retreat that brought together Kodris Africa and Commonwealth Business Women Africa (CBW-A), organised by Compass Global to discuss CBW-A’s partnership on the One Million African Girls Coding Initiative.

Kodris Africa founder Mwaniki Munuhe, who received the award, later participated in a high-level debate at the House of Lords hosted by Baroness Sandip K. Verma.

The debate included executives from CBW-Africa and distinguished representatives from Wintrade Global Business Women’s Network, Compass Global’s Female Leaders & Entrepreneurs Network, and General Electric amongst others.

“Our mission is to democratize coding across Africa by narrowing the digital divide through strategic collaborations that reach schools and learners on the margins of society,” said Munuhe.

“We aim to push for education policy adjustments aligning with emerging trends in the 21st-century job market and to equip African students to access job opportunities globally.”

Baroness Verma said: "I am excited to note that at least Africa is not being left behind in this very transformative Fourth Industrial Revolution and that the girl child is getting her rightful place at the high table."

"We will spare no effort in supporting this and other similar initiatives spearheaded by Kodris Africa, CBW-Africa and other organisations taking deliberate efforts to make a difference," added Verma.

Last year, of the 88 students taking Computer Studies at , OLC Mugoiri Girls High School, 86 scored a straight A while one scored an A- and one a B+.

"The girls excel in technical subjects, including Computer Studies,” Chief Principal Susan Mundia said, adding; “Coding has taken the school by storm, as every girl aspires to be trained in this transformative skill, particularly those from humble backgrounds."

Jack Ngare, Technical Director in Google Cloud's Office of the CTO, who is featured in the video staged in London, emphasized the immense potential of the African continent in the global digital economy.

"Africa shouldn't be considered a place with nothing but needs. The region has a lot to give. There's a young population that is very tech-savvy. One of the things about the Kodris Africa platform is the gamification of the whole coding experience; it’s not just reading a textbook or hearing someone speak on the Internet, it’s solving a problem,” he said.

“There’s a rabbit here that needs to get to the other side of the platform and eat a carrot and you must solve the puzzle and write code for it. That makes children feel like it’s fun to learn new concepts that at some point get hard but it’s worth it.”

Dean of the School of Computing and Engineering Sciences at Strathmore University Eng. Dr. Julius Butime who is also featured on the video, emphasised the importance of collaborations with organisations like Kodris Africa to bridge the gap between early education and university-level training.

“This partnership aims to introduce young learners to the tech space, fostering their interest in tech careers and meeting the country's and industry's demands for skilled coders and application developers,” says Eng. Butime.

The One Million African Girls Coding Initiative, spearheaded by CBW-A, aims to challenge stereotypes and empower young girls with coding knowledge.