At 14, self-taught programmer Kutlwano Tshatiwa has nine apps

Kutlwano Tshatiwa is a South African self-taught programmer. Tshatiwa’s creative ingenuity is incredible, which has resulted in the development of nine apps. A native of South Africa’s North West province, he started learning coding at the age of 13.

“When I was 13 years old I decided to learn programming languages and I developed my first app at the age of 14,” Briefly quoted him.

Tshatiwa said to develop apps one needs to get the basics for programming languages citing C, Java, and Python as examples.

“I didn’t have a laptop to code in. So I downloaded apps and started coding on my phone,” he said after extensive reading

Inspired by Thomas Suarez, a developer who created his first app when he was 12 years old, the first app Tshatiwa developed was called Flashlight.

“My favorite one was an app I termed DR Tumi. It is an app that I converted DR Tumi’s website into,” he said.

Tshatiwa is learning how to develop reality apps and has his sights set on creating social media apps such as Facebook in the future.

Tshatiwa was a participant in the Eskom Expo ISF 2019, where he won the highly commended project award, according to Briefly.

Tshatiwa’s latest creation is an app that aids kids hone their mathematics skills.

“I now have developed an Android application which helps learners practice maths, it’s some sort of a quiz application, and I developed in only three weeks using C# programming language,” said Tshatiwa who’s also a recipient of gold and bronze medals at the levels under the ISF.

Meanwhile, Ghanaian digital Techpreneur, Ivy Barley, has joined tech-giant, Microsoft as a Program Manager.

Barley is a social entrepreneur who is shaping a world where more African women will be daring enough to lead in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) fields.

“I’m glad to be part of Microsoft, a company that’s leading technological advancement globally. I’m even more proud to be associated with a company that loves and supports the work we do at Devinvogue. This is literally ‘Come as you are, do what you love’,” she wrote on Twitter.

Barley learned coding all by herself and risen to become one of the young female Africans changing the narrative about a male-dominated tech industry.

She believes she has the potential to make a significant impact in Africa.

A holder of an MPhil in Mathematical Statistics and a Bachelor’s Degree in Actuarial Science Barley became the second Ghanaian technologist to join Microsoft after Edem Kumodzi who had earlier joined Microsoft as Program Manager.

Barley is the co-founder and CEO of “Developers in Vogue“, an organization helping women embrace the digital technology industry by training and equipping thousands of women in Africa with digital skills.