SAP pledges €1 for every tweet to support Africa Code Week goal to educate 500,000 youths

SAP has announced social media fundraising effort to support Africa Code Week in its mission to teach basic coding skills to half a million African youth this year.

SAP will donate one euro for every tweet with both #SConnect17 and #AfricaCodeWeek between now and September 8. The initiative is part of SuccessConnect in London, the premier event for human resources (HR) professionals set to take place June 12–14 at the ExCel London.

Africa Code Week brings together schools, teachers, governments and nonprofit organizations to bridge the digital and gender skills gap in Africa and empower Africa’s young generation with critical digital skills needed to drive innovation and economic growth.

With Africa expected to have the world’s largest potential workforce by 2035, the continent is well placed to become the driving force of the global economic engine, particularly in light of aging populations in more developed countries.

Now in its third year, the digital literacy initiative is part of SAP’s commitment to drive sustainable growth and skills development on the African continent.

“Too many young women are standing clear of ICT careers because they feel unsupported,” said Claire Gillissen-Duval, director of EMEA Corporate Social Responsibility at SAP and global project lead for Africa Code Week. “Our role is not just to encourage African girls and women to see technology and entrepreneurship as a viable career option. We also need to gather a critical mass of key stakeholders and role models to nurture them and support their hunger for learning, creative ventures and dreams for change.”

The inaugural Africa Code Week saw 89,000 youth participate in 2015, growing to 426,000 in 2016 and beating the target of 150,000 by a huge margin. This year, the goal is to empower 500,000 young Africans aged 8–24 years across 35 countries with basic coding skills.

“Each year we partner with an organization that is driving powerful change in the world as part of our events,” said Mike Ettling, president of SAP SuccessFactors.

“Not only do we want to support the message that corporate social responsibility programs help develop a deeper connection with employees and customers, we also understand the impact this type of visibility can have on a program’s success. Africa Code Week is especially close to our hearts, as we see it as not just the right thing to do, but a key initiative to support the development of a broad group of people, offering them skills, as well as opening up a new pool of individuals for businesses, which helps foster greater diversity, creativity and innovation.”