Apify, She Code Africa Partner to Support Women Developers

Apify, a global software development platform, has partnered with She Code Africa to increase Nigerian women’s participation in software development and the wider developer economy.

The organisations announced the partnership during a two-day hybrid hackathon in Lagos, where women developers showcased technology solutions to real-life challenges.

Apify’s Senior Developer Community Manager, Sauray Jain, said the initiative would create more opportunities for women developers in Nigeria and other African countries to build software, participate in the developer economy and monetise their technical skills.

Jain said Apify had observed low female participation among Nigerian developers using its platform, despite strong participation from Nigeria and other African countries in previous global software-building challenges.

He said the hackathon also enabled participants to develop practical solutions and gain exposure to tools for commercialising their products.

The competition offered cash prizes of $700, $500 and $300 for the first-, second- and third-place winners, respectively. The top 10 participants would also receive $100 worth of Apify prepaid platform usage.

She Code Africa Community Manager, Mfonobong Umondia, said the hackathon brought together women and girls from different technology tracks to collaborate on solutions to real-world problems.

She said the programme covered areas including fintech and cybersecurity, with participants also receiving mentorship, technical workshops and continued access to resources.

The solutions presented included AgriLens Africa, a platform providing agricultural commodity prices and market trends; Lumio, an AI-powered educational application; and FIX, an AI troubleshooting platform for equipment such as generators, inverters and refrigerators.

The organisers said the partnership would help women move beyond acquiring technology skills by creating practical opportunities to develop, deploy and monetise digital products addressing challenges in their communities.