Juma Baldeh, committed to reducing gender gap in ICT in The Gambia

In 2016, in The Gambia, Juma Baldeh launched the Girls Banjul Hackathon, a program that introduces girls aged 8 to 18 to basic computer skills. The goal being to encourage more girls to develop an interest in technology and break down the gender stereotypes they face in their communities.

Through the Girls Banjul Hackathon, which she launched with the Mozilla Foundation in 2016, Juma Baldeh aims to reduce the gender gap in technology in The Gambia. To achieve this, this technology enthusiast trains Gambian girls in ICT so that they become more and more interested in this field.

While at the university of the Gambia where she studied Information Systems,  Juma realized the absence of women in technology in her country. In 2015, as soon as she graduated, she joined InSIST Global, the number one technology company in The Gambia, as a product engineer, where she was in charge of the deployment of software in the cloud or on site.

In parallel, in 2016, she initiated the Girls Banjul Hackathon, in partnership with Mozilla, which she was the representative in Gambia and the region. The program targets, in particular, girls aged 8 to 18 and trains them free of charge, for 6 months, on web culture as well as basic computer skills, thus breaking the barriers to internet access for young Gambian girls. To date, around one hundred Gambian girls have been trained in ICTs under this program. Juma Baldeh is also one of the organizers of Django girls Club, a free programming workshop for women that was launched in 2017.

In addition to her commitment to promoting ICT, she also pursues a career in ICT. After serving as Country Manager of Kunbo, an educational platform, from 2018 to 2019, Juma Baldeh joined the American cultural centre, the American Corner in 2020 where she is Program Manager.

She is also the recipient of several awards and prizes. She is a Scholar of the Young One world 2022, a global summit bringing together young leaders from around the world. She was also named Change Maker by UNICEF and won the First Global Oustanding 2018 Mentor Award – Team Africa.