Jesuye David – Fully-Connected.com

June 18, 2015June 26, 2015

CODE2040 creates access, awareness, and opportunities for top Black and Latino/a engineering talent to ensure their leadership in the innovation economy.

CODE2040 is a nonprofit organization that creates pathways to educational, professional, and entrepreneurial success in technology for underrepresented minorities with a specific focus on Blacks and Latino/as. CODE2040 aims to close the achievement, skills, and wealth gaps in the United States. Its goal is to ensure that by the year 2040 – when the US will be majority-minority – Blacks and Latino/as are proportionally represented in America’s innovation economy as technologists, investors, thought leaders, and entrepreneurs.

Source: www.code2040.org

June 17, 2015June 26, 2015

Students Suffer in Power-starved NIgeria

By Hosni Mubarak, www.aljazeera.com. May 27th, 2015

In the midst of an energy crisis that has seen petrol stations run dry and major telecommunications companies warn of impending closure, widespread power cuts are having a dramatic impact on education in Nigeria.

A Jazeera’s Ahmed Idris, reporting from Kano in northern Nigeria, says that with no electricity at home or in their classes, students are forced to study for end-of-year exams in unusual environments.

One student, Sulaiman Abdulkarim, and his friends were studying under streetlamps on a major highway when Al Jazeera spoke to them.

“I am here in order to read my lecture notes because there is no electricity in our area,” he said.

“We are facing the practicals of computer but there is no electricity.”

Behind him, cars and lorries rush past.

Teachers say students’ grades are falling, along with the larger education sector.

“It affects the quality of education they are getting and it also affects the output coming from the students,” Kabiru Sufi, a college lecturer, told Al Jazeera.

“It has impacted on teaching in such a way that it has affected research.”

Africa’s biggest oil producer currently imports most of its refined petroleum and, just last week, the government said electricity generation hit an all-time low of 1,300MW for a population of 170 million.

It blames sabotage of oil and gas pipelines, as well as an oil workers’ strike.

With chronic shortage of petrol and diesel, most places, including hospitals, are finding it difficult to deliver services.

In a few days, Nigeria’s new government headed by Muhammadu Buhari will be sworn in.

The challenges that they face will include corruption, security, infrastructure decay and the current energy crisis.

Source: Al Jazeera

June 17, 2015June 26, 2015

Apps Created by Black Women You Have to Check Out.

1. Myavana:

Myavana is a hair care recommendation system for women of color. It offers a hair analysis service to recommend the best hair products and styling techniques for unique hair type and texture. This saves women hundreds of dollars and hours of frustration by eliminating the guesswork of choosing what’s best for the hair.

2. Bill Organizer – Manage & Track Your Bills:

Co-founded by Nnanna Obuba and Chidi Oparah, Bill Organizer is a multiple-sync device app. It is used for budgets computation and it combines the features of a full bill organizer and an intuitive user interface.

3. Black History Milestones:

Co-founded by Nanna Obuba and Chidi Oparah, Black History Milestones is an educational app. It teaches black history by testing the knowledge of black culture.

4. Matatu:

Matatu is a two player card game that has origins in Uganda. The goal of the game is to play all your cards before your opponent. First to play all their cards wins. Terry Karungi was the only woman that worked with the app’s building team.

5. Thurst:

Created by Morgen Bromell, Thurst is an app for queer cis, trans, and non-binary folks who are seeking to connect in person. The app is for the people who are tired of apps made for cis, white men and heteroromantic individuals.

6. Didyoudangle:

Created by Mari Mergerson, Didyoudangle is the first app that enables Parents to manage their children’s tasks and give out compensations together. It launches in the Fall 2015.

7. Plum Perfect

Designed and built by Asmau Ahmed, Plum Perfect is a technology-motivated app that aids people discover best fashion styles and beauty brands for their personal looks.

8. We Read Too

Designed by Kaya Thomas, We Read Too is an educational app. It comprises of books garnered from the works of over over 300 black authors.

9. Tastemakers Africa

TSTMKRS is basically a tourist app and was designed by Cherae Robinson. It is great for discovering the unique cities in Africa and finding the best restaurants, bars, nightclubs, and spas the city has to offer.

icon175x175.jpeg (175×175)

10. Educate!

Developed by Lyndsey Scott, Educate! is an app that works to develop young leaders and entrepreneurs. Learn about its members and their ambitions through the app.