2019 TechWomen Nigeria Alumni Conference holds in Lagos

The first Tech Women Nigerian Alumni conference kicked off yesterday at the University of Lagos Akoka, bringing t together women across the country for a one day mentorship in science, technology, entrepreneurship and mathematics.

The event was themed: Advancing the global leadership of Nigerian Women. Graced with an attendance from the united states consulate general, Claire Pierangelo and other key figures in the area of Science, Technology, Entrepreneurship and Mathematics.

Present at the event were the University of Lagos DVC Development Services, Professor Folashade Ogunsola, council member, Energy Institute (UK), Executive Director Lonadek Inc Dr Ibilola Amao, Dr Ayodele Shittu, Deputy Director Enterpreneurship and skills development centre (ESDC) UNILAG, Oreoluwa Somolu Lesi the founder, Women’s Technology Empowerment Centre, Abisoye Akinfolarin, the CEO Smids Animation Studios, Dr Joy Agene, the Natural Resources Management Specialist, World Bank Group.

Others are Mr Sunday Adebisi, Associate professor and Director of Entrepreneurship and Skill development Centre (UNILAG), Odunoluwa Longe, the CEO and founder of DIYLAW, Olasimbo Sojinrin Country Director, Solar sisters, Olamide Ayeni Babajide founder/ CEO Pearl Recycling, the conference commenced with an opening by the Managing partner of sprout Digital Development Limited and founder of code IT, Damilola Ade followed by an address from the United States consulate general.

She stated that Tech women empowers and supports the next female leaders in Science, Technology, Entrepreneurship and Mathematics (STEM). In her words “putting it into action and making it work requires a network. According to UNESCO, only 30 percent of females participate in STEM. According to her, knowledge is key and the network for that knowledge is key,; adding that the United States promotes the rights of women and girls and has invested millions of dollars into tech women.

“If you travel to the United States you will find tech mentor program.Tech women empower, connect and support the next generation of female leaders in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine. Tech women strengthen participants in their professional capacity and increases mutual understanding between their works and professions and that’s one of the key elements of this. It’s hard to know what you can do unless you see other people doing it as well. According to television host Tian Wei “any society that fails to harness the energy and creativity of women is at a huge disadvantage in the modern world’’, she added.

The next speaker, Dr Bola Amao, spoke on the diversity in the tech sector and the stereotype of it being a male dominated sector with 35% minority of women participation. But with the introduction of tech women, this will help boost the interest of women around the world in STEM.

In her words,having more female leaders boosts public performance. ‘’If we can increase the percentage of women in management and leadership, the condition of the country will improve. She further harped that moving into an age of predictive maintenance we should be able to see challenges and transform them into opportunities. Tech women is a platform I am hoping will be able to solve these problems”, she added.

There were series of panel discussions on how to empower women and girls in Technology and also building confident Techpreneurs. The issue of networking was deliberately lingered upon as a crucial element of success in STEM.

According to Damilola Solesi, 70 percent of our time should be dedicated to networking, while 30 percent on personal work. The girl child should be put through on the right path from a very early stage to acquire skills, build confidence and strong will and must be able to understand the core virtues of hard work, diligence and patience as the key to succeed in their career in STEM.

She pointed out further that the number of undergraduates in the U.S is not enough to fill the gap in tech space, hence there is a growing need for more techpreneurs in Nigeria and even around the world today. And for national development, according to her, we need a hand shake between STEM and IT, and we have to know our area of expertise and facilitate networking as it is of common knowledge that no man is an island so therefore the need to work hand in hand within the tech sector cannot be over emphasized.

TechWomen is a U.S. Department of State program which brings together women in Northern California with their counterparts in the Middle East, Central Asia, North Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa for a five-week professional mentorship and exchange program at leading technology companies.
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