August was a very special month of us at WetechNG — the pilot edition of WeTech Panel happened! Themed Advocacy and Sustenance for Women in Technology, we gathered up to a hundred young and budding women in technology to create a community and discuss issues pertinent to the success of women in the tech ecosystem, from academic levels and beyond. This was an amazing opportunity for us to launch the WeTech initiative and also bring together women in prominent tech roles to inspire, network and mentor the young and upcoming ones.
Lagos, being the hotbed of innovation and inspiration for tech in Nigeria, was the perfect location for the first leg of the WeTech Panel series. Our extraordinary panel included Odunayo Eweniyi, COO & Co-Founder, PiggyVest; Dr. Chika Yinka-Banjo, Research Fellow at MIT; Ire Aderinokun, Frontend Dev & Co-Founder, Buycoins Africa; Ugochi Onwuliri, Systems Engineer, Interswitch; Olaide Agboola, Software Engineer, Andela; Folakemi Falodun, General Manager, Online & Mobile, Paga and Chidi Uguru, Head of Business Development, Big Cabal Media as our host. It was great to see a full house of women taking control of tech!
Pause…What’s WeTech Really About?
WeTech is an initiative building a community of women technologists, by linking both the industry and academia: it is important for women studying tech-related degrees or those interested in tech, to have proximity to immediate role models.
As the National Bureau of Statistics affirms that women in Nigeria make up 22% of the total number of Engineering and Technology university graduates each year, WeTech’s mission is to sustain and advocate for those women by giving them practical and reliable resources to aid their technical and professional growth.
WeTech will take a stronghold in university campuses via women-led ambassadorial and fellows program, which will equip them to carry out and expand WeTech’s mission to advocate for women technologists.
In creating this community, the vast areas of technology are intersected: a community that collaborates innovates and supports.
We Are Changing The Narrative
So much growth happens over the course of four years in university education. We believe that it is much better for these young women to have internship opportunities to open them to real-world experiences so that after graduation, they are skilled. It is a very painful process to be a self-taught developer or engineer — Gabriella Uwadiegwu, Founder, WeTechNG.
Our Favorite Moments, The Community
Oh, there’s more. Check them out here. And guess what? The National Television featured a nice round-up. Do watch it.
Nuggets from Our Panelists
