Connected to the future
Fognon Maïmouna Koné, 34, head of the NGO DynExcAfrica, shows a passionate commitment to education and technology through the STEM Makers Lab, specifically aimed at young Ivorian girls.
Maïmouna has a dream: to shape a new generation of young girls and women leaders in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). Everything she has done in building her career with rigour and passion has been geared towards realising this ambition. At the age of 34, she has established herself as a figurehead for female excellence. Recognised as one of the 60 women who are changing the world with their technological initiatives, she won the Top 10 award for the development of young entrepreneurship. And her influence and dedication to innovation were recognised when she was named as one of Côte d'Ivoire's twenty most promising young people in 2023.
Originally from Korhogo, Maïmouna grew up in an environment where education was valued. “My parents always insisted on the importance of learning and surpassing oneself”, she explains. She pursued her primary, secondary and university education in her native Côte d'Ivoire. Her career started modestly, but quickly took off. With a background in private law, bolstered by certifications in leadership, personal development and design thinking from the University of California, in Davis, she has other strings to her bow: audiovisual producer, presenter, radio and TV presenter, PR & Communication project coordinator, strategy consultant and developer of activities for young girls. She first worked as an assistant presenter at Radio Jam, an FM radio station, honing her skills in capturing the attention of her audience.
Promoting access to tools
Her career path, which combines a passion for technology and a desire to get a good education, also reveals a determination to tackle the consequences of the digital divide. Promoting universal access to knowledge and technological tools became her mission. She has embarked on a number of innovative initiatives to empower women and girls, including the Young Women Digital Program, which aims to strengthen the IT, collaborative and digital marketing skills of young women. In 2018, she founded DynExcAfrica (DEA), which stands for ‘dynamic and excellent Africans’. The aim is to promote STEM among women and girls from working-class neighbourhoods, while training them for free. Fognon Maïmouna Koné came up with the idea for this NGO, which she founded and manages, and which operates with just a dozen trainers, when she realised the extent of the digital divide in Côte d'Ivoire and the importance of technological inclusion for her country's development.
Female talent
DynExcAfrica, with thirty projects already up and running, is having a major social impact. “We train and raise awareness among girls and women across the country, preparing them to compete in the technological field”, she explains. Early on, one of the objectives was to conceptualise and create the first STEM Makers Lab made in Côte d'Ivoire, which trains a hundred women and girls every month. This revolutionary initiative, supported by the State, aims to encourage the emergence of an innovative spirit among women. And since it was set up, it has grown rapidly. In its six years of existence, from 2018 to 2024, the numbers are encouraging. In the area of training, the Girls STEM Academy programmes have supported nearly 400 young girls and around 150 women. And the impact on the lives of the beneficiaries is clearly visible: 98% success rate in junior certificate and A-levels, 90% in scientific subjects, 65% with a job. Last but not least, 100% complete their schooling! Furthermore, no fewer than 9,000 young girls have been educated and initiated, including 1,600 trained in robotics, computer coding or drone piloting.
The DynExcAfrica programme, which is offered in the form of workshops, courses or competitions, with the DynExcAfrica STEM Tour or the First Lego League, for example, has developed more than forty applications to date. Over the years, it has become ‘Côte d'Ivoire's benchmark for identifying young female robotics talent’.
One of the girls who has benefited from this support is Rose Goyéli Tuo. When she was just 15 years of age, her X-Market application won the 2021 US Embassy Robotics Competition Jury's Special Prize, awarded by the Margaret Juniors. This tool is dedicated to the management of itinerant roadside shops in Côte d'Ivoire, helping to reduce accidents, neighbourhood quarrels, altercations between vendors and public authorities, etc.
Very early on in her career, Fognon Maïmouna Koné saw the importance of aligning herself with government initiatives to maximise the impact of her organisation. She is also a speaker, and is regularly called upon in Côte d'Ivoire and abroad to share her expertise on STEM, digital technology and issues relating to women and girls. Having been appointed an innovation ambassador by Côte d'Ivoire's Ministry of the Digital Economy and Innovation, she has been able to extend DynExcAfrica's reach throughout Côte d'Ivoire, accessing the most remote locations and bringing STEM education to places where it was previously non-existent.
Thanks to this collaboration, many young girls have access to resources and opportunities that prepare them for a future in STEM. “Through the Ministry of Youth's Youth Employment Agency, the policy of the State of Côte d'Ivoire to support young people is real. This support is not just assistance, but validation of our work, which enables us to work in different educational establishments throughout the country”, says the young entrepreneur.
Becoming a benchmark
The long-term aim of DynExcAfrica, which already has nine awards to its name, is to become a strategic benchmark organisation in the promotion of STEM and to expand throughout Africa. By focusing on the education and empowerment of girls and women, Fognon Maïmouna Koné is not only defending gender equality, she is also laying the foundations for a more equitable and prosperous society.