Teens Can Code wins Africa Online Safety Fund endorsement

To further deepen its campaign for online safety among students in Nigeria, a Lagos-based edtech organization, Teens Can Code, has been selected as one of the 21 recipients for the Africa Online Safety Fund (AOSF). 

The selection comes for the second year after the success of Teens Can Code’s project, tagged Virtually Safe which saw the organization work with parents, teachers, and family to empower students with the requisite knowledge and skills to make the internet safe and stimulating.

Nigeria led the way out of the total of 350 applications received with six awardees, followed by South Africa with five, and four each from Ghana and Kenya. Somalia and Zimbabwe each had one winning organisation. They were selected out of a total of 350 applications received for the 2023 cohort. Collectively, their internet safety initiatives is expected to cover across 15 African countries in a massive drive for online safety acorss the continent.

Founded by Impact Amplifier and supported by Google.org, the AOSF initiative is dedicated to nurturing innovative solutions for the complex safety challenges posed by the internet. According to the awarding body, ‘while the AOSF aims to promote online safety throughout Africa, this funding round has a primary focus on four countries: Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, and South Africa.”

With young people forming the nucleus of the population of people with internet access, this creates unprecedented opportunities for socio-economic development across the continent. It also throws up a litany of challenges, such as bullying and harassment, hate crimes, terrorist recruitment and promotion, misinformation and disinformation, privacy and personal security, and financial scams, according to the AOSF.

Reports say that over 500 million people in Africa have access to the internet, which accounts for nearly 40 percent of the population. Similarly, internet penetration in Africa has doubled 110 times in the last 20 years, accompanied by a burgeoning ownership of smartphones, which is expected to reach 475 million individuals by 2025. 

Speaking on behalf of Teens Can Code, Tolulope Oguntayo, Programs Manager, said, “The partnership is a significant and impactful opportunity as it will enable us empower 500 schools in at least 25 states in Nigeria with essential digital literacy and online safety education.

Through the partnership, we are fostering a future where young people prioritize digital safety as technology continues to evolve.”

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Also speaking, Isaac Damian Ezirim, Founder, Virtually Safe said that the organization “in close partnership with partners and grantees is leading national efforts to make the internet safe for young people by raising awareness and advocating with key stakeholders including parents, teachers, government, and industries, and I am particularly excited about this partnership with Impact Amplifier and Google as their investments help us to re-invest in strengthening systems, build capacities, and create innovative technology solutions to tackle online harms to young people.”