For nearly 20 years, Baratang Miya (pictured) has been encouraging women and girls to step into STEM. In 2003, she founded GirlHype to pursue her vision.

The South African entrepreneur had the opportunity to strengthen her coding skills in Silicon Valley, in the U.S., after being selected by the TechWomen program. The idea for GirlHype was born out of Baratang Miya's personal experience. When she was a university student, she did not know about the Internet. Later, one of her acquaintances introduced her to the digital world. “It has changed my life to the level I could never have dreamed of. It has taken me to the policy level to speak at platforms like the United Nations. I’ve just come back from the UN, in December, speaking as one of the high-level panel members at the Internet Governance Forum,” she remembered.

GirlHype combines both theoretical courses and practical experiences in the field of computer science. The organization offers girls and young women the opportunity to participate, develop technical skills and social skills necessary to fully engage in the new 21st-century job market and higher education.

Baratang Miya’s mission is to address gender inequality in access to digital opportunities and skills. Her work has earned her partnership with international organizations, including UN Women, Mozilla, TechWomen, Silicon Cape, and Technovation. In December 2021, she attended the UN Internet Governance Forum where she shared her vision. "It is high time that the United Nations takes the initiative to ensure that no one is left behind, especially women and girls," she said.

African girls and women should be at the heart of global technology solutions that will be used by their communities, she believed. "We are committed to preparing each of our students to be problem solvers, collaborative leaders, and innovative entrepreneurs of tomorrow," she said.

Aïsha Moyouzame