The first time Binta Coudy Dé left Senegal was in 2011, when the then 22-year-old computer engineer was invited to participate in a tech competition organised by Microsoft in New York. Amongst the groups from all around the world participating in the competition, Dé’s group from Senegal was the only all-female team.

“We knew that in Senegal we were the only women’s tech team, but being the only all-women’s team in that competition was surprising. American people were very happy to see that there were black girls competing, so everybody wanted to talk to us,” recalls Dé. “It was very interesting to us, but also very insulting, because we knew there were other women in the tech field, but nobody knew about them.”

From Equal Times. Story by Lucia He.

That’s when Dé and her colleagues decided to create Jiggen Tech Hub, West Africa’s first tech hub run for and by women. Since its launch in 2012, Jiggen – which is also known as Jjiguène, meaning “woman” in Wolof – has trained hundreds of women and girls across Senegal in technology and leadership skills. It is completely run by volunteers.

Read more at Equal Times.