Category: Programming
Local startup teaches kids programming and entrepreneurship
The Zimbabwean education system is not what it should be. We still focus on agriculture, which is understandable as agriculture is one of our most important industries. However, we are a bit short sighted in not drilling programming and entrepreneurship into our children. Luckily, many startups have taken on this role. Like the one we […]
EcoBank opens up APIs to African businesses and developers
After a pilot earlier this year, EcoBank’s Pan-African Banking Sandbox is now accessible to Africa’s fintech community. The Sandbox allows Fintechs to access Ecobank’s Application Programming Interface (APIs) for the development of solutions. What will innovators be able to do? The sandbox is available on request and once granted access you’ll be connected to Ecobank’s Unified […]
MTNs Chenosis platform seeks to solve Africa’s API problem
Earlier this month, MTN announced the launch of Chenosis. This is an independent API marketplace built to enable developers and businesses across Africa. It will aggregate open APIs making it easy for developers and interested parties discover and make use of these APIs. APIs??? For the uninitiated, we will need to explain what an API […]
UN calls for interested parties to build access to info platform for women
UN Women Zimbabwe is looking for innovative solutions to persistent societal and economic challenges that are disrupting participation of women in decisions that affect their lives. As such UN Women Zimbabwe aims to support an ideathon that is expected to result in a viable and workable web-based platform that facilitates access to information as well […]
Should we all learn to code?
The late great Steve Jobs once said that we should all learn to code. He even went as far as saying computer programming should be a part of our educational curriculum. I will present a counter-argument, “Everyone gets sick, so we should teach basic medicine at primary level.” We can see how this quickly becomes […]
This Zimbabwean Made Nearly US$20K In 12 Months Teaching Online
Have you noticed that when Zimbabweans, get in a queue – they tend to start conversing and coming up with brilliant business ideas about how to make money and attain “financial freedom”. Whilst I’ve left a few queues with brilliant ideas I’ve never acted upon after that day, my quest to attain financial freedom goes […]
Coding Tutorials, But In Shona? Check Out This YouTube Channel
Free educational material is something we are excited about here at Techzim. Those who would have failed to access certain knowledge/skills because of a lack of funds can do so. We are also doubly excited when that content is packaged in vernacular as is the case with Digital Hundred – a YouTube channel created by […]
Hiring A Developer? Devcenter’s Free eBook Could Be Of Use
Last December, we shared Devcentre’s State of Code Jobs document which shared interesting insights on Nigerian software development trends. The startup has now released a 2-part eBook giving tips on Hiring developers. The document titled 7 Mistakes Managers Make When Hiring Nigerian Developers explores the Nigerian context but I felt most of the information I […]
Want To Learn About Data Science, But You’re Not Sure Where To Start? This Course Could Be Of Use
The importance of data science in today’s workplace is becoming more apparent to workers by the day. The biggest problem has been where do people who want to learn about this field start? I’ve referrenced a number of free courses in the past but another course I feel might make a difference for beginners looking […]
Open Parly Announces Hack4Covid Virtual Hackathon; Apply Here
Open Parly ZW is joining the hundreds of organisations trying to use tech to solve the problems caused by COVID-19. The world is adapting to life during the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals, organizations and governments are innovating to make life better, easier, and safer during this unprecedented time. Hack4Covid is Open Parly’s 1st virtual hackathon, and […]
Google’s Developer Scholarship Program Opens Registration
Google Africa Developer Scholarship (GADS) program is back for its second edition. The initiative aimed at helping developers become certified on Google’s Android, Web, and Cloud technologies continuously engage with aspiring and existing developers to help them become professional developers with skills that can get them opportunities after the program. Developers registering for this course […]
Impact Hub Announces Robotics Program For Teens
Impact Hub has announced an educational robotics program which draws “inspiration from Impact Hub Harare’s experience with international robotics competitions namely FIRST Global Challenge from 2016-2018 and the FIRST Robotics Competition in 2019”. The program made for 13-18-year-old’s aims to help them become innovative, well-rounded individuals equipped with soft and technical skills and at the […]
Fintech Startups Can Now Apply For EcoBank’s Challenge
Ecobank Group the pan-African banking group, is inviting African fintech entrepreneurs to enter the 3rd edition of the Ecobank Fintech Challenge. The Fintech Challenge gives African start-ups the opportunity to promote their fintech solutions, and potentially partner with Ecobank to roll-out their solutions across Ecobank’s 33 markets in Africa as well as France. The Ecobank […]
[Update] Impact Hub’s 2nd Coding BootCamp For Kids Will Start In April
Impact Hub Harare recently took to Twitter to announce that the second edition of the Coding Bootcamp for kids will be taking place this coming April. The 2nd edition of Coding Bootcamp is here! An adventure, a hands-on experience crafting a brighter future for your little ones with Impact Hub’s Coding BootCamp. Outside of that […]
Apple Brings Free App With Coding Basics To Macs
Apple’s Swift Playgrounds is now available for free on Macs. Though the application was developed for the iPad and released back in 2016 it will now work on Macs. The application is meant to make it easier for aspiring Apple developers to learn the basics of the Swift language. According to the app description users […]
African AI Platform To Host Hackathon For Regional Universities In March
On 21 March 2020, Zindi will host UmojaHack Africa, the first-ever pan-African inter-university machine learning hackathon. Student teams at universities across Africa will compete while honing their skills and developing machine learning solutions to complex real-world challenges. The winning teams in each of three different machine learning challenges will win cash and other prizes, as […]
Zim Development Studio Edges Towards Half A Million Downloads On The PlayStore; Here’s How They Did It
Age-X Development – a local software company recently announced that they had reached 400 000 installs since inception back in 2016. The special milestone is amazing because once again it shows how the internet can be a powerful tool to reach thousands of people on the globe from your office. We reached out to Van […]
List Of Free Google Digital Skills Courses For People Interested In Coding/Programming
One of the biggest opportunities offered by the internet nowadays is the ability to attain skills you would otherwise have to pay for at no cost at all. Google Digital Skills for Africa is one such platform that has a number of free online courses for people looking to upskill and without investing money into […]
What Is Web Design?
Quite often, web design is used interchangeably with web development, but are the two synonymous? In this article, I take a look at what web design entails in a bid to enlighten those who would like to pursue a career in web development and those who just want to satisfy their curiosity on the subject. […]
Creating Mobile Apps Without A PC
It may sound like a far-fetched idea but it is feasible! Most people are astounded when they discover for the first time how to develop android mobile applications using just a mobile device. The idea is fascinating and worth sharing with aspiring android mobile developers in Africa and developing countries in the world. Let me […]
Facebook To Start Taking Down “Deepfake” Videos
Manipulated media is one of the most dangerous forms that fake news can take. We’ve talked about deepfakes before and the horror of deepfakes comes from the fact that they can make it appear as if you or anyone else said or did something they didn’t do at all. Unlike other forms of fake news […]
Microsoft’s Sketch2Code Turns Whiteboard Sketches Into Code
I’m not a coder so I’m not entirely in-the-know when it comes to coder workflows but what I do know is that a significant portion of guys and girls who code value their whiteboard. That’s where a portion of the magic happens apparently. According to Microsoft what happens on the whiteboard needs to get translated […]
Application Window For Shopify’s 2020 Internship Program Open
[Image Source: Shopify] Commerce platform Shopify hosts a yearly Internship Program and applications for the 2020 Shopify Summer Internship are now open. We scrolled through some of the most FAQs regarding the internship to share what those interested in applying may want to know. Who’s eligible? Anyone and everyone: SInternships at Shopify are open to […]
Uber CEO Says Everyone Should Study The Following Regardless Of Their Career Goals
Uber’s CEO Dara Khosrowshahi recently shared advice regarding some essential subjects he feels people should study regardless of their career path. Speaking at the Economic Club in New York Khosrowshahi encouraged people to study either Computer Information Systems or Engineering for the problem-solving benefits they come with: Even though I went from engineering to finance, […]
TechVillage To Host Python Meetups Every Other Month Starting This Week
This Thursday TechVillage – the Bulawayo-based tech hub- will be hosting what they are dubbing the Bulawayo Python Meetup. The Python community that TechVillage is hosting was already offering support via WhatsApp-based community groups but they will now meet every other month. TechVillage’s Community Manager Lindelwe Mgodla explained that event will involve talks and demonstrations […]
African Development Bank Launches Coding Platform For Kids
African Development Bank recently launched the Coding for Employment platform in partnership with Microsoft. The online tool will be used to provide digital skills to African youths all over the continent. The platform was launched at the 2019 African Economic Conference in Egypt and one of the major aims is to scale it up across […]
Nduna Girls Tutor School Kids As Part Of Africa Code Week Initiative
Last year, Nduna Girls hosted an amazing gaming workshop for kids in partnership with Steam Africa, we haven’t written about their efforts since then but that’s not to say they haven’t been doing anything. Most recently, they participated in the Africa Code Week initiative. Africa Code Week is a digital skill development initiative spearheaded by […]
Here’s Where You Can Watch Zimbabwe Robotics Team Matches Live
The Zimbabwe Robotics Team departed for The Global Alliance Robotics Challenge earlier this week and for those wondering how you can follow the progress of our team, we finally found the site. First Global’s website will live stream all the matches in the competition at no cost, meaning you can follow Zimbabwe’s progress at the […]
Tech Village Hosting HacktoberFest Open-Source Meetup This Weekend
Hacktoberfest – a month-long celebration of open-source software. The event is a partnership between DigitalOcean and DEV. The event will be hosted in Bulawayo in the 1st floor of the NetOne Building, Corner Fife Street and L.Takawira. Opposite Central Police Station. Maintainers -the guys/girls who build source code into a binary package for distribution, commit patches, or organize […]
First Local UNICEF Nutrition Hackathon A Success
Over 50 Zimbabwean adolescents and youth between 10-24 years took part in the Nutrition Hackathon hosted by UNICEF Zimbabwe, in partnership with Boost Fellowship and Ministry of Health and Childcare, to bring change to communities through digital technology. The Hackathon, a sprint-like coding event was conducted over 2 days to engage young people between 10-24 […]