Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 20 | Page 48

COUNTRY FOCUS: TUNISIA “ WHAT I LOVE IN THE TUNISIAN ECOSYSTEM, IS THAT WE ARE VERY CURIOUS AND OPEN PEOPLE WHO ARE ALWAYS THRIVING TO KNOW ABOUT THE LATEST TECHNOLOGIES. important technology is to their futures. It is a powerful tool will provide with career opportunities and help us solve challenges in our country.” As well as setting up Young Tunisian Coders Academy, Ghriss also integrated an American software company, where she learned a lot on the technical and professional levels. “I was then spotted by Facebook to start a Developer Circle in Tunis, which represents a community of developers online and offline. “I have always tried to stay involved in the community, and to give myself the opportunity to learn from every experience I encounter. “Lately, I have been selected as an Obama Foundation Fellow and I have also integrated a Tunisian AI start-up, that's working on democratising Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Africa, called InstaDeep. Faten Ghriss set up the Young Tunisian Coders Academy “I believe that it's important to have the support of the Obama Foundation in the way that as a non-governmental organisation, we always need support to connect with potential people who can contribute to the work that we do on the national and international levels. It also gives us visibility on the initiatives that are happening in Africa, including those in our field so that we can learn from each other and work together. “It was quite challenging to grow Young Tunisian Coders Academy, especially in the beginning, and most importantly to 48 INTELLIGENTCIO Faten Ghriss talking to Barack Obama about issues in Tunisia and how her programme can be beneficial www.intelligentcio.com