Children should be exposed to innovation and technology early to be tech-savvy when they grow up.
Speaking during the 4th Edition of the Pwani Innovation Week at SwahiliPot Hub in Mombasa, the hub’s Founder Mahmoud Noor said the earlier children are exposed to technology the better for them.
“If you look at countries that have succeeded in innovation and technology, they started at an early age. Most of us, especially our generation, started using computers in universities and some even saw computers after university,” said Mahmoud.
Mahmoud noted that children nowadays are smarter because they are exposed to technology through their parents or guardians.
“They are playing with their parents’ phones, accessing different things which make them better,” said Mahmoud.
The SwahiliPot Founder lauded both the county and national governments’ efforts in ensuring the growth of the youth’s digital capacity saying the hub was ready to collaborate with the national and other county governments.
“The government is planning to put up hubs in all constituencies and I think our collaboration with the national and county governments is how we synergize our efforts, bring together resources then we can showcase what kind of programs are needed for such programs to be attractive to young people,” said Mahmoud.
He added that SwahiliPot was ready to share its model with other counties for them to set up their own innovation and tech hubs.
“I think now it is just that collaboration and people to learn lessons, probably the challenges we have faced since we started and how went around them,” Mahmoud said.
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The just concluded Pwani Innovation Week took place from the 2nd to the 6th of October at the SwahiliPot hub in Mombasa in an event that saw innovators exhibit their products and even pitch innovative ideas in the hopes of getting funders.
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“We were not only dealing with innovators above 18 years of age but also connected the event to young scientists, and junior achievers because innovation needs to come from secondary level up to Early Childhood Development (ECD) level,” said Noor.
The event that brought together innovators, tech enthusiasts, and entrepreneurs showcased success stories from previous editions of the PIW including Techkidz Africa.
“We had teams from other counties and even other countries like we had a team from Tanga, Tanzania coming to learn what SwahiliPot does, they have come with their young people because they feel this model works and they would want to replicate it. For us the best we can do is share the model, the concept and collaborate with champions from other counties,” said Noor.
