YDC Case Study Winners
What is the Youth Digital Champions (YDC) initiative?
The mEducation Alliance and its partners are advancing the Youth Digital Champions initiative to capture young people’s passion for digital technologies, from radio to mobile devices, to support community development and self-reliance in low resource settings.
- Raising awareness of and promoting youth (15-29 yrs. old) access to digital literacy skills training, employment, and entrepreneurship opportunities
- Identifying, advancing, and supporting digitally-enabled young leaders in international, national, and local community development issues.
YDCs can work in a variety of sectors (e.g., Health, Education, Agriculture, Community Development, Civic Engagement), but are applying their leadership and digital skills for significant impact in the communities where they live/work.
Round #4 Youth Digital Champions!
We’re thrilled to introduce the 7 inspiring winners of our latest Youth Digital Champions Competition. From EdTech and digital health to agritech and civic engagement, these young innovators are applying their digital skills to solve real community challenges across Africa.
Ikmot Raji
Digital technologies and Mobile App Marketing
Ikmot is a dynamic digital marketing professional leveraging technology to drive financial inclusion for women across Nigeria.
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With expertise in social media, email marketing, paid advertising, and mobile app marketing in the FinTech sector, she empowers women through campaigns, newsletters, blog articles, and her “AskDara” email column. At HerVest, a platform working to close Africa’s $42 billion gender financing gap, Ikmot has helped educate over 40,000 women in urban and rural areas, expand access to savings, credit, and business support, and mentored 15 university students through the Campus Ambassador program, equipping the next generation of female digital leaders.
Kelvin Joseph Kimanthi
Inspire STEM Kits
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Through initiatives like the Inspire STEM Kits and engaging digital content, he brings interactive science and technology experiences to children in remote areas. By collaborating with schools, teachers, and community organizations, Kelvin works to ensure every student has access to transformative STEM learning, empowering the next generation of innovators and changemakers.
Oluwapelumi Ojo
Robotics Kits, 3D Printers, AI Tools
Oluwapelumi is a dedicated STEM education advocate and Program Manager for Additive Manufacturing and Reverse Engineering at Coderina Education and Technology Foundation.
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He leads hands-on, inclusive programs that integrate digital skills into education, including the first robotics program in Nigeria, the Coderina University Challenge, and grassroots digital literacy campaigns. Through his work embedding robotics, coding, and 3D printing into classrooms and communities, he empowers youth to thrive in a tech-driven future.
Phylis Atieno
Mobile App Development Software, AI Tools
Phylis is a dynamic community builder, digital innovator, and advocate for inclusive technology.
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Reuben Nkukuu
Python, Django, Linux OS
Reuben is a passionate technology coach, developer, and community advocate dedicated to empowering youth through coding, programming, and digital literacy.
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He leads coding classes, digital workshops, and mentorship programs at the Kajiado Solar Community Hub, preparing young people for future tech careers. Reuben also supports initiatives like Code Green and THISIT, blending technology with sustainability and community growth. His mission is to bridge the digital divide and inspire the next generation of tech leaders through education, mentorship, and innovation.
Said Shabani Hozza
STEM Learning Kits, Educational Software
Said is the founder of TaifaTek, a rural Innovation and Technology Hub in Iringa, Tanzania.
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With a background in Electronics and Vocational Training, he promotes practical STEM education, digital literacy, and homegrown EdTech solutions in underserved communities. Under his leadership, TaifaTek launched the region’s first makerspace and developed affordable STEM kits, equipping youth with hands-on skills in electronics, coding, and IoT. As a Mastercard EdTech Fellow and EU Youth Sounding Board member, Said advocates for inclusive tech policies and youth empowerment.
Tirivashe Marinda
Robotics and IoT, Web Development and Digital Platforms
Zimbabwe
Tirivashe is a passionate technology advocate, climate change activist, and computer science graduate dedicated to closing the STEM education gap in rural and underserved African communities.
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As founder of the Mother Africa STEM Initiative, he leverages emerging technologies like AI, robotics, and IoT to equip youth, teachers, and graduates with practical digital skills. Through hands-on projects tackling challenges like climate change and food insecurity, Tirivashe inspires the next generation to become tech-driven problem-solvers and catalysts for community transformation.
Round #3 Youth Digital Champions!
We’re thrilled to introduce the 7 inspiring winners of our latest Youth Digital Champions Competition. From EdTech and digital health to agritech and civic engagement, these young innovators are applying their digital skills to solve real community challenges across Africa.
AnnaKaye Boodho
Robotics Kits, AI Tools
Anna-Kaye is the General Manager of Orbtronics. She supports various corporate responsibility efforts to leverage Orbtronics’ expertise and resources to support youth, including by hosting youth interns for ConnectED and leading various other efforts, from the Orbtronics Junior Program teaching robotics to the Orbtronics Digital Literacy Program, sponsored by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank and Republic Bank’s Power to Make A Difference program.
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For Saint Lucia ConnectED, she hosted a team of youth interns onsite at the Orbtronics Junior Program, serving as an Intern mentor and supervisor. She oversaw the work of the team and assisted them in obtaining the necessary skills, knowledge and experience to succeed in their assignments, as well as develop new skills and confidence for venturing into entrepreneurship or the job market in the future. She also served for ConnectED as a training facilitator, providing training to the youth interns on a range of digital topics and STEM programs.
Keeghan Patrick
Robotics Kits, AI Tools
Keeghan Patrick is the co-CEO of Orbtronics and has been responsible for co developing all of Orbtronics Education programs. Keeghan has also facilitated many of programs himself in the very beginning of Orbtronics. He then reached out to other like-minded youth that were passionate about technology to join the Orbtronics team on their mission to accelerate technology adoption and development in their region through Quality and Equitable Education.
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Keeghan is also an active member of the International Telecommunication Union’s Generation Connect group where he works with international delegates to cocreate inclusive digital policies for youth around the world.
Shergaun Roserie
Robotics Kits, AI Tools
Shergaun Roserie is one of the Directors and Co-Founders of the company Orbtronics. Orbtronics is a software and hardware solutions company founded in 2020 that offers STEM educational programs to youth aged 18-35. Orbtronics holds the belief that to foster the Caribbean region’s own “Silicon Forest” – a term synonymous with Silicon Valley – it is critical to educate and empower the next generation of creators and innovators.
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Orbtronics’ STEM Educational Programs aim to revolutionize the education system in the Caribbean by providing youth with exposure to the relevant digital skills necessary to be competitive on an international platform through hands-on, project-based learning. Orbtronics’ programs directly target the 4th UN Sustainable Development Goal: Quality Education.
Mauridi Kiza Ramadhan
eLearning Platforms, AI Tools
Mr. Mauridi has played a significant role in the Vodafone Foundation project, Instant Network Schools (INS), which aims to integrate digital resources into secondary classrooms within the Kakuma refugee camp, in Kenya.
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As a team leader, he coordinates with INS coaches to provide training to teachers and students. Additionally, he oversees the implementation of the girls in ICT program, organizing residential ICT boot camps designed to increase the confidence of adolescent girls to engage with technology.
Kiza is also the founder and CEO of Action For Reugee Life (AREL), a social impact organization that empowers the refugee community to achieve self-reliance through state-of-the-art technology hubs. One of AREL’s key initiatives, AREL Education, provides refugees with a platform to learn valuable skills that can lead to employment opportunities and self-sufficiency, including Digital Marketing and E-commerce. With increased resources, he plans to expand the curriculum to include data analysis, web development, and UX/UI courses starting in January 2024.
Shariffa Amolo Ang'uria
AI Tools
Through the Global Youth Mobilization grant that was given to One More Percent in 2022, Shariffa was able to design a tech solution that enabled 50 girls and young women to experiment with a model software app that enables them to play games while at the same time learning about their reproductive health rights and processes of seeking justice when faced with gender-based violence.
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This solution enabled the participants to know their reproductive health rights and the process of seeking justice thereby increasing their civic educational empowerment in a fun and faster way.
Round #2 Youth Digital Champions!
We’re thrilled to introduce the 7 inspiring winners of our latest Youth Digital Champions Competition. From EdTech and digital health to agritech and civic engagement, these young innovators are applying their digital skills to solve real community challenges across Africa.
Christian Elongué
Literacy, Digital Media
Christian Elongué is an author in children literature and researcher on African video games. Dismayed by a lack of black characters in books available to African children, Elongué founded munakalati.org in 2017 with the goal of building international recognition for African children’s book authors and increasing access to African children’s books.
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In 2018, he started publishing Muna Kalati magazine, which is becoming a reference for writers, publishers and illustrators of children’s and Young Adult books. In 2019, he authored An Introduction to Children Literature in Cameroon, the first scientific book on children’s book industry in Cameroon. Prior to that, he worked with the French National Centre for Children’s Literature. As a founding member and Vice-President of International Board of Book for Young People (IBBY-Cameroon). In 2021, he was one of the 30 Global literacy Champion and innovators by the International Literacy Association.
Manasi Gupta
Digital Media
Manasi Gupta is the founder of Hues of the mind Mental Well-being Foundation and is a mental health advocate.
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She wants to make mental health resources more accessible to everyone. Her organisation has been awarded by the former Health Secretary of India, and has delivered workshops to 10,000+ beneficiaries across the globe. She has delivered 50+ talks worldwide and is also a published author of the book, Hues of You. She has held positions or roles of leadership in Global Governance Initiative, AIESEC, Unite 2030, United Nations’ Millenium Campus Network, IAAH Global, VIT MUN Society and IEEE. She has been a part of the Oxford CGRT, HPAIR, Forbes conference, PMI Make a Reality to name a few. She is one of the 28 delegates, out of 58,000 applicants, to be sponsored globally to attend the One Young World Summit. She believes in being the change she wants to see and believes that empathy, courage & consistency are the biggest catalysts of change.
Round #1 Youth Digital Champions!
We’re thrilled to introduce the 7 inspiring winners of our latest Youth Digital Champions Competition. From EdTech and digital health to agritech and civic engagement, these young innovators are applying their digital skills to solve real community challenges across Africa.
A.N.M. Fakhrul Amin
Health, Digital Media
A.N.M is the founder of ACTIONISTS, a non-profit established in 2019, with a focus on mental health issues in Bangladesh.
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Among other activities, Actionists, supported by a network of 100 volunteers, runs the “Monodhoni” project, which provides teleconsulting services to about 3,000 people, Psychological First Aid (PFA) training to more than 500 counselors, and psycho-social support to about 1,500 people. ACTIONISTS also supports a variety of training sessions to create skilled psychologists.
Through his organization, A.N.M. is also working to ensure “Human Rights” by organizing webinars and giving support on issues such as women rights and empowerment, cyber crime, autism, transgender rights and child abuse.
Asif Amer
Gender Equity, Social Media
From 2019-2020, through his organization, Alleviation 360, Asif implemented a virtual project named ‘Prottoyi’ which focused on Violence Against Young Women and Girls (VAWG) and which included approximately 200 school students from 9 high school in Dhaka City.
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This initiative tried to address VAWG through men and boys’ who were usual offenders and involved forming boys’ group in schools who would advocate for girls’ rights to their peers and debunk myths on patriarchy.
Bendjedid Rachad Sanoussi
Civic Education, Digital Media
Bendjedid serves as Technical Support for Digital Grassroots (DIGRA). DIGRA is a youth and female-led initiative aimed at promoting local citizens, particularly those that are 29 years of age or below, on internet governance awareness in order to promote digital inclusion worldwide and to increase digital citizenship at a grassroots level.
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In his role, Bendjedid has curated the Community Leaders Program for Internet Advocacy which focuses on using the internet for democratic participation.
Brian Malika
Human Rights, Internet
Brian is the Founder and Project Design Director at One More Percent, a grassroots human rights organization, which champions for the digital safety of at risk human rights defenders.
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He helped educate 60 human rights defenders on the principles of digital security so that they can keep their presence online to be secure from trackers like rogue human rights violators.
Brian also introduced these human rights defenders to a technology called Datshi which has unique features to hide the identity and sensitive digital human rights data that is stored on digital devices by human rights defenders.
Additionally, Brian Malika has been nominated to serve as a Civil Society advisory board member of Digital Rights with Tech For Democracy. Recently, Brian Malika was part of the Tech For Democracy Summit where he represented the interests of rural and the urban poor in terms of digital inclusion and internet affordability.
Dominic Kimanthi
Health, Mobile App
Dominic is a Project Manager for Techfugees, an impact-driven global organization advancing tech solutions for displaced people.
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The Kenyan chapter organized a hackathon to answer health-related challenges faced by refugees and the Kenya Red Cross Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) in Kakuma Refugee Camp and Kalobeyei Settlement on how to facilitate health alerts and make sure care is being delivered at the right time.
Christopher B. Jones
Food Distribution & Retail, E-commerce
Christopher is co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Liberia’s eCommerce platform, Ezee Market.
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Ezee Market enables Liberians anywhere in the world to care for their loved ones back home swiftly, conveniently, and affordably while allowing Liberians back home to shop for items with ease from the comfort of their homes and offices.
Courteney Mukoyi
Human Rights, Mobile Apps
Courteney is the founder of a social entrepreneurship venture named Courtlex Technologies. Courtlex is a legal-tech company that works to bring convenience in the legal space through tech and SDG oriented solutions.
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Among other Courtlex activities, Courteney helped develop a Human Rights mobile app that provides legal resources to citizens including contact information of free legal organizations and lawyers, prompts on what to say to the police when arrested, and a function to report police abuse.
Kashvi Chandok
Human Rights, Social Media
Kashvi is an Independent Journalist and researcher with demonstrated history in exploring the issues of trans-national migration, women’s rights and climate change.
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Through her work with the UN Women, she has written on the various national and international mechanism that might aid female journalists in the Asia-Pacific region. In March 2021, she was the Country Representative in the APFSD youth forum organized by ARROW and UN ECOSOC where she co-wrote the youth demands and recommendations for the Government of India. Previously, she also worked with the Centre For Social Research, India and where she assisted in Facebook and Twitter collaborated programs on digital safety where they virtually reached over 20,000 students.
Vianca Jasmin Anglo
Human Rights, Internet
Maria is the Executive Director of the Women in Technology – Tarlac Chapter.
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Women in Technology aims to educate, to inspire, and to advocate for women in technology by fostering the sharing of stories, ideas, and resources about professional women in the tech industry and to increase understanding of and visibility for the contributions made by women in all areas of technology.
Kyle Villanueva Aboy
Climate Change, Internet & Social Media
Kyle established Ibaraki Academy as an online leadership program for young people of the Philippines which aims to connect like-minded individuals to protect the environment.
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He curated this online course for three months with capacity-building activities, mentoring programs, and project management and implementation. Through which, he was able to train almost 30 young people nationwide and implement three projects about environmental education, solid waste management, and urban gardening.
Lara Pizarro
Education, Videogames
Lara is the CEO and CPO of Hexar, a software development company, that provides game-based learning platforms on science, maths and skills for schools, teachers and students.
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Martin Odongo
Agriculture, Mobile Platform
Martin is leading the organization’s use of the AgroBond solution platform. For decades, small holder farmers in Uganda have been lacking access to essential equipment and services to improve their productivity, yields and value addition capabilities.
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Only few private and public production and processing (hiring) services are available for farming communities. . This platform connects farmers without equipment to those with equipment. It also assists farmers to access innovative financing mechanisms for the purchase of essential agricultural inputs. Martin was responsible for training rural holder farmers on how to use and leverage smartphone technology to hire out and rent equipment as well as market their output using a mobile enabled application.
Mubarak Idris
Health, Internet & Multimedia
Over the past three years, Mubarak as Bridge Connect Africa Initiative (BCAI)‘s Digital Campaigns Manager, has worked with local communities in Northern Nigeria to amplify the voices of young girls.
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His work and that of BCAI creating and disseminating compelling, evidence-based advocacy videos focused on ending child marriage and increasing access to youth family planning services positively impacted associated commitments from state leaders. BCAI’s videos–which were filmed, directed and widely disseminated under his leadership–were shared on popular social media platforms, mobile phone texting, and community-level youth activism, reaching 1.3 million people online.
Marian Abukayo Murunga
Education, Computers
Marian is co-founder at Busia Border Hub (The Border Hub), a youth and women–led community development organization located in Busia, Kenya.
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The Border Hub supports youth and their communities to access opportunities for social, cultural, and economic prosperity. This is done through programs centered on skills, entrepreneurship and innovation.
Nandini Tanya Lallmon
Nandini is the campaign lead of #Reform53, an activity of The Commonwealth Youth Gender & Equality Network (CYGEN), which is a youth-led, and youth-focused network which actively promotes and supports the meaningful inclusion of youth voices on gender equality issues. In 2020, CYGEN launched #Reform53, an advocacy campaign calling for the leaders of all 54 Commonwealth countries to reform laws that discriminate against women and girls and LGBT+ people. With the support of the Pan Africa International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, she advocated on social media and via digital press for the implementation of an Equal Access Health Policy to protect young LGBT individuals from being discriminated against by mental health service providers.
Organization: Commonwealth Youth Gender & Equality Network (CYGEN)
Human Rights, Social Media
Country of Impact: Mauritius
Prajwal Bhattarai
Prajwal is the founding president of Scholastic Foundation Nepal, a non-profit organization, which convenes academic programs at national level. In 2019, he played a leading role in organizing thirteen academic events for Nepalese youth with more than 1500 competitors in a single venue within three days. He is passionate and often invited to speak about youth in nation-building and youth leadership, academic activism, research, digitalization of education, inspiration, start-ups along social entrepreneurship.
Ronak Dev Shetty
Ronak is founder and president of Aprendalo! ESL an organization that connects underprivileged individuals and those affected by the financial burdens of COVID-19 who want to learn English as their second language with youth tutors, who help them learn to speak, read, and write in English in free online lessons. These lessons are currently available to people who speak Spanish, Portuguese, and French. Offered virtually, Aprendalo! ESL is made possible by a network of over ninety student-tutors who meet for an hour every week and deliver an English language lesson to a pupil with little to no English experience.
Organization: Aprendalo! ESL
Education, Video Conferencing and Messaging Platforms
Country of Impact: United States
Sulata Dhakal
Sulata is Program Director of a non-profit organization named Smart Cheli. Smart Cheli is working to create gender balance in the STEM field by providing mentorship and STEAM based workshops for young girls such as coding and digital hygiene. The aim of Smart Cheli is to enhance critical thinking, cultivating their imaginations and problem solving skills, and to introduce girls to STEM from an early age.
Uzoma Agba
Uzoma is a Mentor for Technovation, an organization which supports girls in self-directed technology and entrepreneurship programs, including those developing AI solutions to meaningful societal problems. In her role as the Technovation's Idea Lab Judge Advisor, (the highest level of being a Technovation judge), she judged the junior and senior category of girls' submissions on mobile applications developed with MIT App Inventor and Thunkable.
Organization: Technovation
Education, Internet
Country of Impact: Nigeria
Randa Sandhita
Randa is a Conflict Resolution and Public Policy enthusiast. In 2018, he founded a youth-led organization named Katalisator Muda Indonesia. This organization focuses on empowering youth to better understand issues of conflict and violence in Indonesia and has partnered with more than 140+ national and international organizations in its program and activities. This included collaborating with Search for Common Grounds (SFCG) Indonesia on the initiation of digital campaigns and several offline workshops to counter narratives of violent extremism in Indonesia. Due to his contributions in these efforts, he was nominated as ASEAN Youth Changemaker 2019 by ASEAN Foundation and Maybank Foundation.
Organization: Katalisator Muda Indonesia
Peace and Security, Social Media
Country of Impact: Indonesia
Interested in learning more about the YDC Initiative?
Visit our Youth Digital Champions page to learn more about the activity and partners involved.
