Crystal Kewe
Crystal Kewe is a software engineer based in Papua New Guinea who co-founded the technology company Crysan with her father when she was 15 years old, making her one of the world’s youngest CEOs of a software development company.[1] Since its founding in 2014, Kewe’s company has expanded to include a team of over 20 employees, some of whom are based in Southeast Asia, Europe, and South America,[2] 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.[3]
Education
Kewe attended Paradise High School in Papua New Guinea up until grade 10,[4] after which she stopped going to school and taught herself how to program computers.[3]
Apec App Challenge
Kewe and her father won first prize in the 24-hour hackathon which is a partnership between Apec, The Asia Foundation, and Google. The challenge was to “build an app that would help bilum artisans and entrepreneurs in Papua New Guinea,"[5] as bilum makers often face difficult hurdles selling their crafts.[6] 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,[7] and is one of the first mobile payment providers in Papua New Guinea.[8]
Awards
- 2018 APEC Digital Prosperity Award[9]
- 2019 Papua New Guinea Security Congress Award for Excellence in Individual Achievement[10]
- Coral Sea Cable System Repeater Dedicatee, Dec 2019[11]
- 2019 Westpac Outstanding Women Awards - IBBM Young Achievers Award[12]
References
- "Q&A: Crystal Kewe blazes trail for PNG artisans". Asia & Pacific. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
- "Home - Crysan Technology Ltd". crysan.com.pg. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
- "The 20-year-old PNG woman taking on tech". www.westpac.com.au. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
- "Crystal Kewe LinkedIn Profile". LinkedIn. 2021.
- "Apps for artisans: Boosting bilum with the APEC App Challenge". Google. 2018-06-11. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
- "A Story of Selling: Bilum in the Marketplace - Asia Foundation". Google Arts & Culture. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
- "Biluminous: an Artisan-Centric Platform to Connect PNG Wavers to the Global Markets". Tech In Pacific. 2018-12-03. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
- "Technology Advances Women's Leadership" (PDF). The Asia Foundation. May 2019.
- "Young Female App Developer Wins APEC Digital Prosperity Award". APEC. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
- "Security Industry Awards 2019". PNG Security Congress | Conference & Exhibition. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
- "PNG's ICT champions honored at Coral Sea Cable event" (PDF). Coral Sea Cable System. 13 December 2019.
- "11th Westpac Outstanding Women's Award – EMTV Online". Retrieved 2021-01-27.