Intel pairs tech volunteers with NGOs for social cause
The AkiraChix team at iHub in Nairobi. File
What you need to know:
The project has attracted more than 90 developers including students from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenyatta University, University of Nairobi, Strathmore University, Masinde Muliro University, Moi University, Africa Nazarene University and freelance developers.
The app will include a chat application, and the users can receive information about opportunities in education and jobs.
Intel is pairing some of the best mobile application developers and programmers in the country with NGOs to develop tech solutions that address issues the civil society seeks to address in the communities they serve.
Through an initiative dubbed Intel Code for Good, the programme aims to tackle some of society’s most pressing problems by connecting NGOs with volunteer software developers, website creators and student programmers.
In the arrangement, Intel plans to train Kenyan developers on how to develop better applications for tablet computers and mobile phones, particularly in the Android ecosystem.
The project has attracted more than 90 developers including students from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), Kenyatta University, University of Nairobi, Strathmore University, Masinde Muliro University, Moi University, Africa Nazarene University and freelance developers.
“Intel’s Code for Good has an opportunity for local developers to not only develop greater software expertise and gain new skills and but also for non-profits to acquire apps that can help solve some of the challenges they face within the communities they serve,” said Agatha Gikunda, Intel Software Services Group Lead.
A group of developers from JKUAT comprising Edward Kabage, Ian Wambai, Jack Mwangi and Gerald Brigen are now developing a solution that will enable women interested in science and mathematics to connect to one another.
The app will include a chat application, and the users can receive information about opportunities in education, jobs as well as benefit from mentorship by women already established in the sector.
The solution is looking to tackle the problem of limited female inclusion in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. African Women Educationalists has also partnered with Intel Code for Good and the developers to tackle female inclusion in sciences.
Developers from JKUAT, the University of Nairobi and Akira Chix have worked on an app that links farmers with researchers under the initiative to provide them with information on crops, livestock and best farming practices and innovation to boost production.
