SAP's Africa Code Week fundraiser to educate 500,000 youth in Africa

SAP has launched a social media fundraising effort to support Africa Code Week, a program that is on a mission to teach African kids the basics of coding. As a part of the SuccessConnect in London, the premier event for human resources and management professionals, SAP will donate a euro for every tweet with both #SConnect17 and #AfricaCodeWeek tags till the 8^th of September.

Africa code week is a special program launched by SAP that helps bridge the digital skills gap in Africa to empower Africa’s younger generations with necessary digital skills to enable innovation and economic growth, something the African countries sorely need. It aims to bring together a number of non profits, organizations, schools, teachers and governments to turn the world’s largest human resource to the world’s largest skilled work force.

“Too many young women are standing clear of ICT careers because they feel unsupported,” said Claire Gillissen-Duval, director of EMEA Corporate Social Responsibility at SAP and global project lead for Africa Code Week.

Africa is expected to have the world’s largest workforce by 2035. The continent is on the brink of being the carrier and driver of the world’s largest economic engine if its human resource is put to good use.

“Our role is not just to encourage African girls and women to see technology and entrepreneurship as a viable career option. We also need to gather a critical mass of key stakeholders and role models to nurture them and support their hunger for learning, creative ventures and dreams for change, ” added Gillissen-Duval.

SAP’s digital literacy drive turns three this year. It has been a part of SAP’s commitment to drive the growth of skills and sustainable development in the continent of Africa.

Three years ago, at the inaugural Africa Code Week, they saw a turnout of 89,000 youth participants which grew to 426,000 in 2016, beating their own measly target of 150,000 to everybody’s surprise. This year they have the target set for 500,000 young Africans between the age of 14 and 26 to be empowered in basic coding skills.

“Each year we partner with an organization that is driving powerful change in the world as part of our events,” said Mike Ettling, president of SAP SuccessFactors. “Not only do we want to support the message that corporate social responsibility programs help develop a deeper connection with employees and customers, we also understand the impact this type of visibility can have on a program’s success.”