INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

How to code your vision

Imagi teaches and connects the next generation of coders.

imagi - fun coding game

Learn to code in Python

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Master a few lines of code and you open up a world of possibilities. But what if getting the opportunity to learn the basics of coding is simply not available to you?

Dora Palfi and Beatrice Ionascu created Imagi to get more kids, specifically young girls, interested in coding. The pair – who joined Apple Entrepreneur Camp to help bring their project to life – were inspired by their experiences of working in tech, where they saw first-hand how underrepresented women are in the industry. “I was called the girl on the seventh floor,” Palfi says of her early experiences as a software engineer and UX designer.

“We felt strongly that no woman should be nameless in tech – we see digital skills as powerful opportunities to improve aspects of our life and create tools that help address social issues,” she adds.

Imagi came to life in 2020 with the goal of helping young people learn to code – using the programming language Python – as well as creating and connecting a community of coders who could inspire and learn from each other.

Coding is like a toolbox. The more you learn, the bigger your toolbox and the more problems it allows you to solve.

– Beatrice Ionascu, co-founder Imagi

Making coding cool

Imagi’s brightly coloured pixellated world is filled with gamified learning experiences that are designed to feed kids’ curiosity around coding. With the cute ImagiGhost acting as a guide, the puzzle-like format sends kids on a quest to discover how to program pixel art designs, one line of code at a time.

“Coding is like a toolbox. The more you learn, the bigger your toolbox and the more problems it allows you to solve,” Ionascu says.

Palfi and Ionascu made Remixing one of the core features in the app – it enables kids to build upon each others’ projects and add their own creative modifications.

“It captures our obsession with creating an open, collaborative and creative space for kids to nurture their interest in creating and playing with code,” Ionascu says.

Imagi is designed to make learning as much fun as possible for budding coders.

Building community

The app’s global community of learners is an integral part of the coding experience. Kids can go to Imagi’s Community tab to check out other coders’ work, get inspired and even code together using SharePlay.

“We strive to create a supportive and safe community that appreciates diversity and equality, and ensures that kids’ interest in tech is maintained and developed over time,” Palfi says.

Empowering girls

Palfi and Ionascu hope that Imagi can support more and more young girls to start coding, and that this essential skill can lead them to pursue any goal they dream of.

“Coding empowers women to create their own technology-based innovations that address issues specific or important to them,” Palfi says.

“It’s a means to an end, a superpower you can use to build solutions for the problems you care about,” Ionascu adds.

For young women starting out in app development, Ionascu’s advice is to “just find your passion and dive in”. Equally as important as finding unique ideas though, is to build a team that can successfully bring them to life. “Ideas are hardly ever unique, it’s the team that will make the difference,” Palfi says.

Feeling motivated? Explore more apps that will help you to start coding your vision.

Apple Entrepreneur Camp is a one-on-one technology lab for underrepresented founders and developers with app-driven businesses. Find out more, and how to apply, here: