Crystal Kewe is a web and app developer based in

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

and the CEO and CTO of Crysan Technology Ltd.

Early life and education

Kewe's interest in programming started with an interest in

video gaming Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedback m ...

, and around age 12, she started teaching herself to program software writing in

python Python may refer to: Snakes * Pythonidae, a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia ** ''Python'' (genus), a genus of Pythonidae found in Africa and Asia * Python (mythology), a mythical serpent Computing * Python (pro ...

. She attended Paradise High School in Papua New Guinea up until grade 10, in 2014, after which she stopped going to school and continued pursuing a self-created education in programming. Kewe intends on seeking a college degree in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in 2022.

Advocacy

Kewe has been a guest lecturer at the University of Papua New Guinea, and she currently serves as on the academic advisory board for Papua New Guinea's International Training Institute. She says that the supportive infrastructure is the most important part of successful educational systems, and that institutions do not fairly support different groups of people, highlighting girls as a marginalized group in scientific and technical education.

Career

In 2014, Kewe and her father co-founded the technology company Crysan when she was 15, making her one of the world's youngest CEO's of a software development company. The company has since expanded to include a team of over 20 employees, some of whom are based in Southeast Asia, Europe, and South America, and has partnered with the Papua New Guinea government on education initiatives as well as building a platform designed to provide transparency surrounding public development funding.

Apec App Challenge

Kewe and her father won first prize in the 24-hour

hackathon A hackathon (also known as a hack day, hackfest, datathon or codefest; a portmanteau of hacking and marathon) is an event where people engage in rapid and collaborative engineering over a relatively short period of time such as 24 or 48 hours. Th ...

which is a partnership between

Apec The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

The Asia Foundation The Asia Foundation is a nonprofit international development organization committed to "improving lives across a dynamic and developing Asia". The Asia Foundation (TAF) was established in 1954 to undertake cultural and educational activities on be ...

, and

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

. The challenge was to “build an app that would help

bilum ''Noken'' (from Biak: ) is a traditional Indonesian multifunctional knotted or woven bag native to the Western New Guinea region, Indonesia. Its distinctive usage, which involves being hung from the head, is traditionally used to carry various ...

artisans and entrepreneurs in Papua New Guinea," as bilum makers often face difficult hurdles selling their crafts. The team won for the conception and development of an app called Biluminous which is an e-commerce platform that features bilum makers and highlights their process while connecting them directly with customers, and is one of the first mobile payment providers in Papua New Guinea.

Awards

* 2018 APEC Digital Prosperity Award * 2019 Papua New Guinea Security Congress Award for Excellence in Individual Achievement * Coral Sea Cable System Repeater Dedicatee, Dec 2019 * 2019 Westpac Outstanding Women Awards - IBBM Young Achievers Award

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kewe, Crystal Living people 2000s births Papua New Guinean women in business Software engineers