The annual Miss Geek Africa competition, a platform that showcases innovative solutions by girls in science and technology, is set to resume in September after it was postponed last year due to Covid-19. According to organisers, the competition had reached the selection stage when it was postponed last year and the organising committee will pick up from where it left off. “When it resumes in September we’ll head to the finals,” said Esther Kunda, the director general for Innovation and Emerging Technologies at the Ministry of ICT and Innovation, who was among the initiators of Miss Geek contest. The competition, originally known as Miss Geek Rwanda, was initiated in 2014 before it was rebranded to Miss Geek Africa in 2017, with girls from 22 African countries now taking part. This is the sixth edition, overall. The competition seeks to inspire young girls to take up Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects and ultimately pursue careers in the male dominated fields. The idea is to inspire girls to use their STEM skills to come up with innovative projects that provide answers to challenges facing their communities and countries, Kunda said. The initiative also promotes the culture of free expression and self-reliance, she added. The event normally takes place on the sidelines of the Transform Africa Summit, affording finalists an opportunity to interact with leaders and industry captains at the meeting. ‘Equal opportunities’ The Miss Geek Africa project is spearheaded by Smart Africa Secretariat and Girls in ICT Rwanda. She added: “The contestants had sufficient time to prepare their projects despite the Covid-19 situation, we think that they will make wonderful pitches,’’ she said. Josephine Uwase Ndeze, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, was the winner of Miss Geek Africa 2019, having designed a mobile platform that can enable expectant mothers to monitor their health during pregnancy. Patrick Izere, a senior four science student at Lycee de Kigali, said of the competition, “It’s a great initiative; previously, girls were generally afraid to take science subjects but many of them are now doing very well and I think Miss Geek has played a key role in helping many of them to believe in themselves.” Kelly Uwase, a science student from University of Rwanda, also said the competition is a good influence to many girls. “I was very excited when I got to know about the competition, women deserve equal opportunities in the technology space,” she said.
