Expert advocates early coding education for African children

Cybersecurity professional and education advocate, Ivie Osoiye, popularly known as The Roman Ivy, has called for a shift in Africa’s digital education strategy, urging stakeholders to introduce coding and digital literacy to children before the age of ten. Osoiye, the founder of Stix and Codes Academy, said most digital skills initiatives on the continent focus […]

Cybersecurity professional and education advocate, Ivie Osoiye, popularly known as The Roman Ivy, has called for a shift in Africa’s digital education strategy, urging stakeholders to introduce coding and digital literacy to children before the age of ten.

Osoiye, the founder of Stix and Codes Academy, said most digital skills initiatives on the continent focus on teenagers and young adults preparing for the workforce, a stage she believes is already too late to close confidence and access gaps.
According to her, early exposure to technology helps children develop confidence and familiarity, preventing the intimidation and exclusion often associated with digital skills later in life.

Stix and Codes Academy provides age-appropriate training for children as young as six, covering coding, computational thinking, robotics, game development and digital creativity.

The programme adopts a hands-on and playful learning model that allows children to build projects, experiment with logic and understand how technology functions.

Osoiye explained that the approach is designed to move children from being passive users of digital tools to becoming active creators.

By introducing digital skills early, she said the Academy presents technology as a basic life skill rather than an elite or narrowly defined career path. She added that the training also supports the development of critical thinking, creativity and adaptability among young learners.

Drawing from her background in cybersecurity, Osoiye noted that the curriculum goes beyond technical skills to include digital safety, responsible internet use and ethical engagement with technology.

She said this aspect of the programme reflects the reality of early online exposure among children and the growing need for digital awareness at a young age.

With Africa having one of the youngest populations globally and technology playing an increasingly central role in everyday life, Osoiye said early digital education was essential to preparing future generations.

She added that teaching African children to code before the age of ten would help raise a generation that not only uses technology but understands it and builds it with confidence and purpose.