In celebration of Women’s History month, we’re celebrating the founders behind groundbreaking apps and games from around the world - made by women or for women. Let's discover four of my favorites in this latest batch of nine #WeArePlay stories.
Múkami's journey began when she noticed the lack of representation for girls in the gaming industry. Determined to change this narrative, she created Royelles, a game designed to inspire girls and non-binary people to pursue careers in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, math) fields. The game is anchored in fierce female avatars like the real life NASA scientist Mara who voices a character. Royelles is revolutionizing the gaming landscape and empowering the next generation of innovators. Múkami's excited to release more gamified stories and learning modules, and a range of extended reality and AI-powered avatars based on the game’s characters.
"If we're going to effectively educate Gen Z and Gen Alpha, we have to meet them in the metaverse and leverage gamified play as a means of driving education, awareness, inspiration and empowerment.”
- Múkami
When her university friend needed an urgent blood transfusion but discovered there was none available in the blood bank, Leonika became aware of the blood donation shortage in Indonesia. Her mission to address this led her to create Reblood, an app connecting blood donors with those in need. With over 140,000 blood donations facilitated to date, Reblood is not only saving lives but also promoting healthier lifestyles with a recently added feature that allows people to find the most affordable medical checkups.
“Our goal is to save more lives by raising awareness of blood donation in Indonesia and promoting healthier lifestyles for blood donors.”
- Leonika
Luciane was devastated when she lost her son in a car accident. Her and her husband Renato's loss led them to develop Carsul, an urban mobility app prioritizing safety and security. By providing safe transportation options and partnering with government health programs to chauffeur patients long distances to larger hospitals, Carsul is not only preventing accidents but also saving lives. Luciane and Renato's dedication to protecting others from the pain they've experienced is ongoing and they plan to expand to more cities in Brazil.
“Carsul was born from this story of loss, inspiring me to protect other lives. Redefining myself in this way is very rewarding.”
- Luciane
After hearing the stories of young people who had experienced abuse that was similar to her own, Spoken word artist Diata developed App-Elles – an app that allows women to send alerts when they're in danger. By connecting users with support networks and professional services, App-Elles is empowering women to reclaim their safety and seek help when needed.Diata also runs writing and recording workshops to help victims overcome their experiences with violence and has plans to expand her app with the introduction of a discreet wearable that sends out alerts.
“I realized from my work on the ground that there were victims of violence who needed help and support systems. This was my inspiration to create App-Elles."
- Diata
Discover more #WeArePlay stories and share your favorites.
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