Abisoye Ajayi-Akinfolarin is the founder of Pearls Africa Foundation.   Pearls Africa Foundation is a non-governmental organization that provides young girls living in underserved communities through training in technology, skill acquisitions and mentorship.   One of their projects, “GirlsCoding” has reached more than 400 beneficiaries, including girls from orphanages and correctional homes, in addition to young women fleeing the Boko Haram insurgency.   Abisoye was recently named “CNN Hero of the Year”. This year, she joins nine other people in the world who will receive $10,000 in support of their heroic endeavours.   In this episode you’ll learn:   How she fought the stigma of not gaining admission into the university on time Her struggle to gain admission into the university How did she turn to programming as a succour during these times? Abisoye thinks a lack of education makes you voiceless. Find out why That she was delayed for two extra years after becoming a university student Her frustrations about wanting to travel outside the country for greener pastures How did she learn to code without a background in sciences? How to combine schooling and working efficiently About her first trial at registering a business Why is volunteering so important to growth? The difficulty in getting access to the Makoko community About her nomination for CNN Heroes How the Makoko girls built a working product What are the next projects Abisoye and her team have in mind? And more   Selected links from this episode