GirlCode, a social enterprise that aims to empower young girls and women through technology, will be hosting its fifth annual GirlCodeHack from 3 – 5 August 2018. The hackathon will be the largest all-female hackathon in South Africa, with over 400 participants expected. Computer programmers and others involved in software development, including graphic designers, interface designers, and project managers are invited to collaborate on software projects aligned to this year’s theme: “Technology as an enabler to tackle the UN Sustainability Goals”.

Taking place in Women’s Month, the primary goal of GirlCodeHack event is to raise awareness of female technical talent and foster a competitive, yet cooperative and congenial culture for talented female techies. This years’ #GirlCodeHack promises to be the biggest yet, with a total of R350,000 in prizes to be won, meaning all participants stand a real chance to win something over the course of the weekend. This years’ grand prize will be a trip for the winning team to the Women in Tech Conference sponsored by Cisco.

Over the past four years, we’ve seen some exceptional product protoypes pitched at the GirlCode Hackathon and so, in partnership with Cisco, we want to provide the winning team with outstanding opportunity to learn, grow their idea, network with international women in tech and come back to South Africa with some inspired stories of women in tech to share with their peers.

“Despite the progress that’s been made, when you walk into most IT departments, you will be greeted with predominately male faces” says Zandile Keebine, co-founder of GirlCode. “This event aims to not only show off the female tech talent we have in South Africa, but also to encourage young girls to consider a career in technology, and local companies to think about how they can support the development of women in IT. And, we’re excited to be able to give the grand prize winners a trip that will be an educational experience of a lifetime.”

For the first time since its inception, GirlCodeHack will take place in three cities from 3-5 August 2018:

Diamond sponsors include: Wolf Information Risk, which specialise in information and cyber threat management covering the full spectrum of prevention, detection, incident response and business resilience capabilities. Amazon Web Services a subsidiary of Amazon.com that offers reliable, scalable, and inexpensive cloud computing services, and Ericsson, which is one of the leading providers of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to service providers, with about 40% of the world’s mobile traffic carried through their networks.

“By supporting the GirlCodeHack event, we hope to empower and inspire girls and women to pursue careers in technology. We need their skills, knowledge and passion to ensure that local innovations promote equal access and opportunities for all,” says Joanne van der Walt, Director: Sage Foundation Promotions which is our newest partner, who are also diamond: Sage Foundation provides time, resources, and technology so non-profit organizations can help more people reach their true potential. They are focused on building social, economic and entrepreneurial opportunities in our local communities

Platinum sponsors include BBD and Britehouse, and Gold sponsors include IQBusiness, IndigoCube, Mint, DVT and Entelect. To enter the hackathon, participants can register here: https://bit.ly/2IoAL4u

GirlCode’s vision is to impact 10-million women across Africa in 10 years, starting with getting young girls interested in STEM, and to become the largest female digital academy. It aims to do this through strategic partnerships with the public sector; strengthening collaboration with similar organisations; and leveraging corporate assets in the development of ICT facilities, infrastructure and networks within schools in disadvantaged communities.

For any questions regarding the hackathon contact: Tapiwam@girlcodeza.co.za