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Youth Digital Champions

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.

  1. Raising awareness of and promoting youth (15-29 yrs. old) access to digital literacy skills training, employment, and entrepreneurship opportunities
  2. 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.

Meet Our Youth Digital Championship Cohorts

YDC Collaborating Partners

Eidos
IYF
World Ed

Meet our 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.

YDC Round #4 Winners eNews Highlight

Ikmot Raji

Digital technologies and Mobile App Marketing

Nigeria

Ikmot is a dynamic digital marketing professional leveraging technology to drive financial inclusion for women across Nigeria. 

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

Tanzania

Kelvin is a passionate advocate for hands-on STEM education, committed to bridging learning gaps in underserved and rural communities. 

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

Nigeria

Oluwapelumi is a dedicated STEM education advocate and Program Manager for Additive Manufacturing and Reverse Engineering at Coderina Education and Technology Foundation. 

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

Kenya

Phylis is a dynamic community builder, digital innovator, and advocate for inclusive technology. 

As a Global Shaper with the Nairobi Hub of the World Economic Forum, she empowers young girls through programs like Technovation, mentoring them to create tech-driven solutions for real-world challenges. With expertise in developer experience, open-source collaboration, and digital education, Phylis champions technology as a tool to bridge digital divides and expand opportunities in underserved communities.

Reuben Nkukuu

Python, Django, Linux OS

Kenya

Reuben is a passionate technology coach, developer, and community advocate dedicated to empowering youth through coding, programming, and digital literacy. 

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

Tanzania

Said is the founder of TaifaTek, a rural Innovation and Technology Hub in Iringa, Tanzania. 

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. 

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.

Past Youth Digital Champions

Each year, the Youth Digital Champions (YDC) competition recognizes inspiring young leaders—ages 15 to 29—who are using digital tools to solve real challenges and create positive change in their communities. These innovators demonstrate how youth-led solutions, even in low-resource settings, can improve learning, livelihoods, and local development.

Selected through a competitive global process, YDC winners represent diverse regions, ideas, and technologies—from mobile and computer-based platforms to radio and television. Together, they showcase the power of digital innovation driven by youth.

What it means to be a Youth Digital Champion

Past winners have:

  • Designed and led impactful, youth-driven digital solutions

  • Used technology to address community challenges in education, employment, and development

  • Demonstrated leadership, creativity, and a commitment to social impact

  • Inspired peers and communities through grassroots innovation

Interested in collaborating on the next YDC call—focused on Youth STEMpreneurs? We’d love to hear from you at medalliance@meducationalliance.org

Meet Our Past Youth Digital Championship Cohorts

Jax Chaudhry

Jax Chaudhry leads Project Invent, a national nonprofit that empowers youth with future ready mindsets for individual success and global impact, through invention. Originally from the Southside of Chicago, Jax loves working with students, families and partners to ensure every student can attain success as they define it. For more than 10 years, she has worked with elementary schools, high schools, education nonprofits and led regional teams and operations to ensure student success.

Michael Leventhal

Kenneth Y T Lim operates at the intersection of neuroergonomics, the learning scienceMichael Leventhal is co-founder of RobotsMali, a pedagogical and AI4D laboratory and STEM education center in Bamako, Mali. RobotsMali has trained thousands of students from elementary school to high school in computer science, robotics, and artificial intelligence, coached national robotics teams that have won 32 medals in international competitions, and developed technologies using AI and robotics for the social and economic development of Mali. Before becoming an educator in Mali, Michael worked as a technologist in Silicon Valley.s, and cognitive psychology. In 2023, he and his team were identified by UNESCO to share their work on the affordances of Generative AI for meaningful teaching and learning, during UNESCO’s first annual flagship event Digital Learning Week, international forum on the implications of Generative AI for education, in the session on ‘Preparing students and teachers for responsible use of AI’.

Enouce Ndeche

Enouce Ndeche is the founder and Director of Vijana Amani Pamoja ,VAP a community scheme based in Nairobi Kenya that uses the power and the popularity of the game of soccer/football as a catalyst for social, educational and economic empowerment.Enouce holds a degree in sociology from Egerton university and he is also the 2020 individual award recipient “Diversity and Inclusion Eminent Leader Award Enouce is also a certified Sports Philanthropy and Executive, George Washington University and is a 2023 Gratitude Network fellow.

Kenneth Y T Lim

Kenneth Y T Lim operates at the intersection of neuroergonomics, the learning sciences, and cognitive psychology. In 2023, he and his team were identified by UNESCO to share their work on the affordances of Generative AI for meaningful teaching and learning, during UNESCO’s first annual flagship event Digital Learning Week, international forum on the implications of Generative AI for education, in the session on ‘Preparing students and teachers for responsible use of AI’.