GIRLS FROM CALABAR AND ABA PITCH THEIR IDEAS FOR SOCIALLY-CONSCIOUS STARTUPS
Calabar, May 1, 2019
iKapture Networks in partnership with The LiftHUB and with the support of the U.S. Embassy Nigeria is hosting 26 teams of girls ages 10-18 from South-South region of Nigeria for its 1st Technovation Regional Pitch Event on May 11, 2019. Technovation is a global technology entrepreneurship program for girls that challenges them to identify and solve a community problem through the development of a mobile app. The girls have spent the last five months participating in the program and will take the stage to explain how their ideas will solve community problems like poor quality of education, lack of healthcare services, fake food products and more.
The Regional Pitch Event is the first round of the global technology entrepreneurship program. Students will pitch their app ideas to a panel of judges from The LiftHUB, Innovation Growth Hub, Afterschool Center for Career Development and 1 Million Jobs Initiative. The participating teams will be competing for the opportunity to attend the annual Technovation World Pitch Summit in August 2019 held in Silicon Valley. There, 12 teams from around the world will be flown in and invited to pitch their apps and business plans to a panel of tech industry experts for a chance to win scholarships to advance their education in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) subjects.
During the Technovation Regional Pitch Event, the teams of girls will:
- Display their app demos and prototype of their ideas 9:00 – 10:00am
- Pitch on live stage 10:00am – 3:00pm
In addition to the teams pitching their ideas, attendance is open to the public and will include a variety of technology experts and advocates, including the Commissioner for Women Affairs and the Commissioner for Health, eager to hear from young women in their community.
WHERE: Tinapa Knowledge City, Calabar, Nigeria
WHEN: Saturday,May 11, 2019, 9:00am – 4:00pm
WHO: 26 teams from Calabar and Aba; business leaders, changemakers, advocates, students
This is the ninth season of Technovation globally and the first season of Technovation in the South-South region.
After participating in Technovation, 70% of girls globally are interested in pursuing further technology related programs. In the U.S., 60% of girls enroll in further Computer Science courses with 30% majoring in Computer Science in college, 65 times the national rate for US female college students.
The Regional Pitch Event is a showcase of local talent and innovation, and an excellent opportunity to talk to the problem solvers and app developers of tomorrow. To learn more about Technovation globally, visit www.technovationchallenge.org.
About iKapture Networks
iKapture Networks is an emerging social enterprise that seeks to provide solutions to the youth and educational challenges using innovative strategies and information and communication technology (ICT) in Nigeria. The organization works with secondary and post-secondary students as well as graduates and youth between the age of 15 and 25 years who require certain relevant skills to be outstanding in an increasingly competitive environment. Using cutting edge technologies and adopting innovative strategies and approach, we provide high quality and intensive training, tutorials, engagement programs, internship and links to opportunities for development.
About Iridescent and Technovation
Iridescent is a global technology & engineering education nonprofit that empowers underrepresented young people and their families to become self-motivated learners, inventors, and leaders. Founded in 2006 by CEO Tara Chklovski, Iridescent has had more than 100,000 children, parents, mentors, and educators participate in its two global programs: Technovation, the world’s largest global tech entrepreneurship program for girls, and Curiosity Machine, a unique, open-ended, project-based learning program that inspires students, families, and teachers to create science and engineering solutions together. Through Technovation, girls work in teams to identify a real-world community problem and then build an app and a business plan that solves that problem. In 2017, Iridescent was co-recognized along with Technovation Global Ambassador Anar Simpson for Outstanding Mobile Industry Individual Leadership at the GSMA Women4Tech awards. Technovation was profiled in CodeGirl, a documentary directed by Lesley Chilcott.
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