Girls in STEM in Zambia: Our Impact
Last updated: 9 July 2026
Girls in STEM in Zambia face a gap that opens long before university: by the time most girls choose their subjects, technology already feels like it belongs to someone else. Code SHEROs, built in Lusaka by Codebloom Digital Technologies, closes that gap at its source, teaching girls aged 7 to 12 digital skills through story-driven coding missions where the heroes are African girls.
This page sets out what we do, which Sustainable Development Goals it advances, and how schools, sponsors, and partners can be part of it.
Three SDGs, one platform
Quality Education
Free-forever core learning, a structured academy, and school licensing put quality coding education within reach of every Zambian girl.
Gender Equality
Girls-first design and sponsored places for government-school girls tackle the tech gender gap where it starts: in childhood.
Climate Action
The Green Guardian Grid teaches coding for the green economy: climate data, renewable-energy logic, and environmental problem-solving.
Green skills for the green economy
Our climate-action claim is concrete: green digital skills for girls. World 3, the Green Guardian Grid, is a full story world where girls code the planet's comeback by reading climate data, sequencing renewable-energy logic, and solving environmental problems with real code. Zambia's green transition will be built by people who can code; we are making sure girls are among them from the very start.
The model: reach every girl, not just the connected ones
- Families: core learning free forever; premium from K60/month for those who want more.
- Schools: per-student, per-term licensing with teacher dashboards, certificates, and termly reports.
- Sponsor a SHERO: individuals and corporates fund coding education for girls in government schools who would otherwise have no access to digital skills training.
- Pilot → scale: 100–200 girls across 3–5 Lusaka schools from Q3 2026; 1,000+ girls across Africa by the end of 2027. Results will be published here.
Built inside Zambia's innovation ecosystem
Code SHEROs grows out of Zambia's own tech ecosystem, from BongoHive, Lusaka's technology and innovation hub, to the GreenTech4CE (IGNITE) programme co-funded by the European Union, alongside Zambia's wider digital-skills agenda championed by institutions like ZICTA. Local roots are the point: an edtech for Zambian girls, built in Zambia, with original African characters.
Questions funders and partners ask
How does Code SHEROs advance SDG 4, Quality Education?
Code SHEROs delivers structured, quality coding education to girls aged 7 to 12 in Zambia through story-driven missions and a three-track academy. Core learning is free forever, the platform runs on shared Android phones, and school licensing brings it into classrooms, so quality digital education reaches girls regardless of household income.
How does Code SHEROs advance SDG 5, Gender Equality?
The gender gap in tech starts in childhood, when girls decide STEM isn't for them. Code SHEROs is girls-first by design: the heroes are African girls, the missions reward creativity and logic equally, and the Sponsor a SHERO model funds places for girls in government schools who would otherwise have no access to digital skills training.
What is Code SHEROs' claim to SDG 13, Climate Action?
Green skills, not slogans. World 3, the Green Guardian Grid, teaches girls to code for the green economy: missions built around climate data, renewable energy logic, and environmental problem-solving. Zambia's green transition needs digitally skilled builders, and we're growing them from age seven.
What is the pilot and how is it measured?
Our school pilot targets 100 to 200 girls across 3 to 5 Lusaka schools from Q3 2026, measuring lesson completion, skill progression through the academy tracks, and projects published to the showcase. The goal is 1,000+ girls learning across Africa by the end of 2027. This page is updated as pilot numbers come in.
How can funders and partners get involved?
Three ways: sponsor girls in government schools through Sponsor a SHERO, bring Code SHEROs to a school through per-student licensing, or partner on our roadmap of after-school STEM centres in underserved communities. Contact the team at hello@codesheros.co.zm.
See the product side: coding for girls in Zambia and the STEM app built for girls.