Salissou Hassane Latifa: Nigerien and humanitarian whizz
In Niger, there are very few girls who go on to higher education, especially in the sciences. With a master’s in software engineering, Salissou Hassane Latifa, 27, has successfully created a start-up, an NGO and state-of-the-art tools for the health and safety of her fellow citizens.
Profiled by Emmanuel de Solère Stintzy.
You have the same brain as a man! Don’t put barriers up! Don’t let yourself be led! Salissou Hassane Latifa, 27, is tireless in her efforts to repeat her message to young girls in her country. According to UNICEF, in Niger in 2019, only 2 in 10 students finished secondary schools and 3 in 4 girls were married before the age of 18... In this context, Latifa says she is lucky to have grown up with parents who went to school and even a “techie” dad before it became common: When we were children, he tried to instil in us his passion for computing by introducing us to the computer.
Salissou Hassane Latifa appreciates this, but has long been drawn towards a different vocation: Since I was really small, I loved helping others. Safia Diawara, a cousin, tells us: At school, she was the one who would smooth things out when there were arguments in class. She was the sort of confident student that teachers don’t forget, with the profile of a leader. Within the family, Latifa always managed to get us all together, even the most distant members.
With her sociable nature, she considered a humanitarian career as a doctor, but ultimately drew inspiration from her family. As a result, Salissou Hassane Latifa turned towards “the technologies of the future”, gaining bachelor’s and master’s degrees in software engineering from the École supérieure des télécommunications (EST) de Niamey. Determined to combine her education with her calling, she created the Saro app (“security”, in Hausa) to help locate and rescue the victims of road accidents.
She won the 2017 e-Takara 2017 national competition for young digital talent and the title of Miss Geek Africa 2018 in Rwanda in 2018, an annual competition recognising technological innovations from young Africans: These prizes were a real awakening for me. I told myself that there were no limits on what you want to achieve!
On the front line tackling Covid-19
Since then, Latifa has used her extreme motivation to launch more and more initiatives. She is the co-founder and innovation and digital transformation officer for the start-up InnovElle, set up in 2018, and the voluntary executive director of the NGO Hope Sahel. Founded in late 2019 to promote the employability of young people and fight against the inequalities experienced by girls, lin 2020, the organisation, which has six employees and over 100 volunteers, launched a project to combat Covid-19, with CFI support, as part of the MédiaSahel: We met with local authorities and suggested talks with young people and programmes on community radio stations in Diffa (editor’s note: in the south-east of Niger, on the Nigerian border). People in this region found themselves limited on two fronts: insecurity and the lack of information on the virus, explains the executive director.
Armed with more information, young people are now reported to be more compliant with the health measures. As the boss, Latifa has succeeded in gaining support from everyone! says Bachir Idrissa Moussa, executive secretary of “Hope Sahel”. With a firm commitment to fighting the virus, Salissou Hassane Latifa also took on the role of coach at the 2020 Coronackathon, a fully online competition open to all young Nigeriens and their innovative solutions for combatting the virus: She shared her project management experience with the competitors. These young people knew Latifa, she is a role model for them, states Almoctar Seyni Moussa, a techie friend and co-organiser of the competition.
This led to other ideas for humanitarian geek Salissou Hassane Latifa: I would like to set up a ‘Girls in ICT Niger’ community so that young techie girls can get together and with professionals who can serve as role models to guide them, and I would also like to involve male volunteers.
In 10 years…
According to her close friends, Salissou Hassane Latifa is a multi-tasker and multi-idea generator. Something that is only set to grow and develop in the future... She will no doubt have developed several social and environmental applications to tackle desertification. She will have become one of the most influential women in Niger! says her cousin Safia Diawara.
Almoctar Seyni Moussa, a techie friend, adds: In 10 years, I see her as the director of a digital company or a digital development department within a company. Bachir Idrissa Moussa, executive secretary of Hope Sahel, however, does not see her completely leaving their NGO: “Latifa could work for the United Nations in the education sector, but she wouldn’t be an employee there, as she wants to take Hope Sahel as far as possible.
A sentiment confirmed by Salissou Hassane Latifa, the executive director, herself: In 10 years, I hope our NGO will be working throughout Africa on youth employment and the fight against inequality between girls and boys. My biggest dream would be for the UN to partner with Hope Sahel so we could make a bigger impact.
And all this while keeping one foot outside the system to maintain her independence and ideas.