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Good practice Imported

Girls to Code — Dhiraagu and Women in Tech Maldives' National Coding Programme

Maldives · Malé · See the Maldives profile · See the Malé profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 95% 20/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Dhiraagu and Women in Tech Maldives' 'Girls to Code' has run island editions since 2019; the 2025 Male cohort graduated 17 women aged 16-30, for a cumulative 108, amid a national push - endorsed by the President - to bring girls into AI and digital development.

17
Graduates, 2025 Malé edition (2025)
108
Cumulative graduates since 2019 (2019-2025)
25
Participants in 'Girls in Data' course (2022)
Girls to Code — Dhiraagu and Women in Tech Maldives' National Coding Programme

Details

Promoter
Dhiraagu (Maldives telecom operator) and Women in Tech Maldives
Period
2019–2025 (ongoing)
Keywords
AI/digital literacy, girls' STEM education, coding

Context

Dhiraagu, the Maldives' largest telecommunications operator, and the NGO Women in Tech Maldives have run the 'Girls to Code' programme since 2019, with editions rotating across the atolls (Fuvahmulah, Kulhudhuffushi, Thinadhoo, Laamu Atoll, Dhidhdhoo) as well as the capital.

Activities

The 2025 Malé edition opened on 15 July for women aged 16-30 and graduated 17 participants, bringing the cumulative total of graduates since 2019 to 108; a related standalone initiative, 'Girls in Data,' ran a 14-session, 1.5-month data-analysis course for 25 girls aged 10-13 in 2022.

Results

The programme sits within a broader national push: marking International Girls in ICT Day 2026 (theme 'AI for Development: Girls Shaping the Digital Future'), Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu publicly linked girls' participation in coding and digital skills to the government's 'Maldives 2.0' digital-transformation agenda, which names AI, robotics and computer programming as target areas for reducing gender bias in emerging technology.

Conclusions

Evidence is participation-count only: cohort sizes are small (17-25 per edition), all figures trace back to the corporate sponsor's press releases (independently republished by several Maldivian outlets but not independently audited), and the curriculum is general coding/problem-solving rather than AI-specific, so any AI-literacy benefit is indirect.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Low (< €50k) — No public budget figures published; funded via Dhiraagu corporate sponsorship.
Time to results
Long (> 3 years) — Recurring editions since 2019, most recently the 2025 Malé edition (opened 15 July 2025).
Staffing & skills
Dhiraagu corporate sponsorship/programme team, Women in Tech Maldives NGO

Conditions for success

  • Corporate telecom sponsorship (Dhiraagu) sustaining recurring editions since 2019
  • Rotating delivery across multiple atolls rather than only the capital, to reach beyond Malé

Commonly funded by

Philanthropic / foundation funding

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

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