Education1 min readDeveloping entry
Dzaleka AppFactory
Also known as AppFactory, Microsoft AppFactory Dzaleka
A software-development training programme launched in Dzaleka in 2017 through Microsoft 4Afrika and UNHCR's Connectivity for Refugees initiative.
Last reviewed 13 July 20263 sources
This entry preserves verified historical information, but a recent primary source has not confirmed every current operational detail.
Launch
The Dzaleka AppFactory opened in June 2017 through Microsoft 4Afrika and UNHCR’s Connectivity for Refugees programme, with equipment support from HP. UNHCR described it as the first AppFactory established in a refugee camp.
Training model
The programme combined hands-on software development, business skills, mentoring, and practical projects. The first cohort selected 31 students. Participants worked on applications intended to address local needs while building skills that could support employment or entrepreneurship.
Place in Dzaleka’s digital history
The AppFactory is part of a longer history of refugee-led digital learning in Dzaleka. It provided connectivity, devices, formal instruction, and international partnerships at a time when reliable access to these resources was limited.
This entry is marked as developing because the programme’s current operating status has not been confirmed from a recent primary source. The article records the documented 2017-2019 programme rather than implying that admissions are currently open.
References
Sources
- 1Refugee camp AppFactory grooming software developers
UNHCR, 11 December 2017
- 2Bridging the digital divide for refugees in Malawi
HP, 20 September 2017
- 3Increasing access to digital skills through partnerships
Microsoft News Center, 13 March 2019
Related entries
Education
Education in Dzaleka
Public, private, community, and post-secondary education in Dzaleka, including the Malawi curriculum and long-running scholarship and digital-learning programmes.
Place
Dzaleka Refugee Camp
A long-established refugee settlement in Dowa District, Malawi, opened in 1994 and now home to a large, multilingual community from the Great Lakes region and the Horn of Africa.
Institution
Yetu Community Radio
A multilingual community radio station based in Dzaleka, established to serve refugee and Malawian communities with public information and community programming.
Infrastructure
Livelihoods and the local economy
How residents earn income through trade, services, agriculture, creative work, training, and digital labour despite restrictions on movement and formal employment.
Infrastructure
Dzaleka Mapping Project
A MapMalawi initiative that combined drones, OpenStreetMap, field mapping, and community training to document buildings and essential services at Dzaleka.
Help improve this entry
Send a correction, a stronger source, a missing detail, or a photograph. Submissions are reviewed against the encyclopedia's editorial guidance before the public record changes.
Submit a correctionRead the editorial guidelines