At a Glance
Location: Colombia
Impact Areas: Labor Inclusion, Sustainable Income
People Supported:
Women
Joined NESsT Portfolio:
2021
Overview
By 2025, the IDB estimates that at least 600,000 more developers are needed to fill the talent gap in the software tech industry. In response to the unmet talent demand, Make it Real offers online bootcamps to train students in full-stack software development or data science, offering affordable and flexible financing options, including income-share agreements that enable students to pay for their tuition after landing their first job in tech.
Since launching its business seven years ago, Make it Real has trained more than 600 students and achieved a 98% placement rate, successfully supporting its graduates through its matching services. However, the company is concerned about the low percentage rate of women that have applied to its programs. Its enrollment rate is 8%, a rate that mirrors that of the overall software industry in Colombia.
In partnership with NESsT and IKEA Social Entrepreneurship, Make it Real aims to train 250+ women in order to increase the diversity of the sector and to ensure access to the flexible and economic resilience opportunities made possible through tech. The enterprise has partnered with government training entities and educational institutes that offer technical degrees to help young women from low-income backgrounds access the bootcamps.
Results & Impact
247
women trained in programming by 2024
600+
graduates found employment within 6 months of course completion
20
women given scholarships in 2020
“Make it Real helped me realize that I am capable of achieving any goal I set for myself. I believe that women must continue to fight for gender equality, and we must understand that no profession is created just for men.”
NESsT Investment
NESsT and IKEA Social Entrepreneurship have welcomed Make it Real into its portfolio as it prepares for expansion into new regions in order to support a wider range of women from vulnerable communities. In Latin America, the pandemic accelerated the demand for online learning platforms and with it, the industry’s talent gap for developers.
To meet this demand, Make it Real will focus on strengthening its impact measurement to ensure long-term student development and to increase partnerships with employers to ensure access to quality job opportunities for its graduates.
In the near-term, Make it Real is building a scholarship fund that will finance tuition for low-income participants as well as wraparound services that ensure their graduation. This may include stipends to cover monthly living expenses, childcare services, and mental health services. NESsT and IKEA Social Entrepreneurship will help the enterprise to structure the fund, and to strengthen its governance by recruiting a Board of Directors that can ensure the effective management and scaling of their efforts.
