Meet Francisca

115 Million youth over the age of 15 cannot read or write.

Young women make up 59% of the 115 million illiterate youth today. Across generations, women were deprived of core learning skills like reading and writing. My grandmother, Francisca, never got this chance. STEM IN A BOX is in her honor.

Our team works hard, so every day that passes, fewer girls like my grandmother wonder who they would have become if given a chance to go to school.

"In honor of Francisca."

Meet Maria

Hi there! My name is Maria, and I am a human-centered designer working towards breaching access to education and technology in developing countries.

I have not always been a designer, let alone a changemaker. I graduated cum laude from ESCP Business School, studying Financial Management in London, Turin, and Berlin. Yet, inspired by my grandmother’s resilience and intelligence when denied access to schooling, I founded STEM IN A BOX, a youth-led initiative distributing robots assembled from electric waste and cardboard in Latin America and Africa.

STEM IN A BOX was my first interaction with Information and Communications Technologies for Development (ICT4D). I am now pursuing my Master’s at the University of Colorado Boulder ATLAS Institute, specializing in the Design of Technology for Social Impact. I have worn multiple hats throughout my life, but I hope to merge my passions for finance, social entrepreneurship, and technology in my long-term career in ICT4D.