COUNTRY: MALAWI
Rachel Sibande is the Founder of Malawi’s first technology hub; mHub. The hub nurtures young technology enthusiasts with technical and entrepreneurship skills and champions the development of technology solutions. Rachel was named by Forbes as one of Africa’s most promising young entrepreneurs in 2016. In 2015; she received the Anita Borg Scholarship from Google given to outstanding female computer science students from around the world.
She is Malawi’s Ambassador of the Next Einstein Forum Initiative which promotes science, technology engineering, and mathematics. Rachel is also an alumna of President Obama’s Young African Leaders Initiative. Rachel is the first Malawian to hold a local TEDx License. She is a Ph.D. candidate in Computer Science at Rhodes University in South Africa.
Rachel Sibande has piloted a technology platform in Malawi, called Mzinda, where citizens engage with locally elected leaders and service providers on service delivery. Rachel has also led the deployment of citizen engagement initiatives using technology during elections in Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zambia. She also has a Certificate in Entrepreneurship for Scientists from ICTP in Italy.
Through the hub, Rachel has established a Children’s Coding Club and a Girls Coding Club where children and girls are taught how to develop mobile technology applications in quest to enhance a generation of creators of technology. In her free time, Rachel loves to spend time with her three bundles of joy; Uwemi, Uzengi, and Unenesco, and experimenting with spices in the kitchen.
The ZMDT fellowship has activated the feminist in me. It has been a journey of self-discovery. I am now working on creating a ripple effect to have more young feminists within my network of innovators and entrepreneurs.