08 November 2018

South African telecoms minister Siyabonga Cwele said initiatives such as Africa Code Week are helping to develop local content which will drive demand for internet services.

SAP is aiming to introduce coding skills to 600,000 young people across 36 countries following the launch of this year’s Africa Code Week.

Since its inception in 2015, SAP claims its annual event has introduced coding skills to more than 1.8 million young Africans while facilitating the integration of ICT education in the school curriculum for more than 28,000 teachers and educators across the continent.

According to SAP Africa MD Cathy Smith, the so-called ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’ is forcing a complete rethink of how education is approached, with a strong focus on lifelong skills development.

She said: “By inspiring a new generation of African youth through digital skills development, and by empowering teachers and communities with digital teaching tools, we aim to accelerate digital literacy while ensuring a more inclusive and innovation-led workforce.”

SAP adds that Code Week’s mission is to empower 70,000 teachers by 2020.

Every year between June and September, the company funds a series of “Train-the-Trainer” sessions to empower teachers with skills and materials that advance digital skills in the school curriculum.

As part of this year’s sessions which were organised across 20 countries, SAP says 500 teachers were trained in Ghana, 1,200 in Nigeria, 200 in Madagascar and a further 1,000 in Botswana.

Google is once again backing Africa Code Week as part of its own commitment to preparing 10 million people for tomorrow’s workplace.

It is supporting 53 non-profit organisations across 11 countries to empower teachers and inspire an estimated 80,000 students through computer science and coding workshops.

South Africa’s telecoms minister Siyabonga Cwele believes content is going to be a “key game changer” for the continent in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Speaking at the event’s launch in Johannesburg in early October, he said: “Initiatives such as Africa Code Week are helping to develop local content which will drive demand for internet services.

Crucially, we are going to rely on partnerships with the private sector and other social partners to develop the digital skills the continent needs to be competitive in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.”