African school girls work to build and launch Africa’s first private satellite

Africa’s first private satellite will be launched in 2016.

The project to build and launch the satellite is being powered by a group of South African high school girls – presenting a shift in participation of the African girl child who would have, in the past, let the “geeky boys” work with all things STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.)

The funding and support of the project is being led by Meta Economic Development Organization (MEDO).

According to the CEO of MEDO, Judi Sandrock, “the intention of this project is not to be a once-off. It is to be the start of at least a decade-long drive to inspire young people – especially girls to enter the science and technical fields.”

Read more: Rising Africa