AkiraChix bridges the gender gap in tech by providing high-potential African women with technology and leadership skills to compete on the global stage. AkiraChix recruits highly motivated, self-driven young women between the ages of 19-24 from Kenya and other East Africa countries, including Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Sudan as well as refugees from Kakuma Refugee Camp. The organization aspires to be the leading source for African female technology talent for the world, from junior developer to tech CEO.
- Kenya
- Education, Livelihoods, and Technology
- 70% of graduates are confirmed junior developers and gainfully employed 60 days after graduating from codeHive
- 143% increase in income for codeHive alumnae one year after graduating from the program
- 305 women graduated from AkiraChix’s codeHive program over the past decade
- 50 young women enrolled in codeHive in 2020, with 72% of graduates finding a junior developer role within 60 of leaving the program
- AkiraChix’s flagship program, codeHive, offers young women from underserved backgrounds one-year of residential, fully subsidized and hands-on technical training in UI/UX, Backend development, frontend development, hardware product design and much more - so that they can become the leaders of tomorrow’s tech sector
Linda Kamau
As a naturally curious and confident person, Linda Kamau is no stranger to trailblazing. She is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of AkiraChix, an organization that provides practical, hands-on skills training to young women and prepares them for existing opportunities in the labor market. For 10 years working as a software engineer, she found herself being the only woman of color in a leadership position working with people from over 10 different countries and it’s with this inspiration that she co-founded AkiraChix whose mission is to provide hands-on technical training and mentorship to young women and girls to increase the number of skilled women in technology.
We look deeper and further for talent and find it where others cannot find it because we believe brilliance is evenly distributed, but opportunities are not. It’s amazing seeing the young women who go through codeHive thrive in an industry that has been predominantly male-dominated rightfully earn their space in it. With the young women joining and working in the tech industry, we are on the right path to achieving a diverse, equal, and ethical tech workforce. Our greatest hope is that the young women who go through codeHive will take over the tech industry and for the next Twitter CTO will be a codeHive graduate.
