Tech4Dev’s Women Techster’s Initiative expands to Gambia

The move is part of its vision of bridging the digital and technology knowledge divide between men and women and ensuring equal access to opportunities. 

The tuition-free instructor-led initiative aims to empower women and girls between the ages of 16 to 35 with digital skills to further create inclusivity and sustainability in the tech ecosystem.

After recording massive success during its launch in five African countries namely Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa, Ghana and Kenya, the initiative moved to 10 more African countries in 2022 - Ethiopia, DR Congo, Tanzania, Uganda, Algeria, Sudan, Morocco, Angola, Mozambique, Madagascar. 

Commenting on the latest expansion to The Gambia, Joel Ogunsola, founder and president of Tech4Dev, said it was only right to move to The Gambia as it is fast becoming a technology powerhouse on the continent.

“Expanding to The Gambia for us was a no brainer looking at the growth in the country’s tech ecosystem. This alone was enough to convince us because we feel we can help more women in the country break into tech and give them access to decent jobs in the ever-changing global market.”

Co-founder and executive director at Tech4Dev, Oladiwura Oladepo, expressed hope that by empowering women with digital skills, they can contribute to the development of the tech industry in The Gambia and bridge the gender gap in the sector.

"Women have the potential to be great leaders and innovators in the tech industry, and we want to provide them with the necessary tools and resources to succeed." she said.

The expansion of Tech4Dev to The Gambia, he added, is a significant milestone for the organisation, as it continues to work towards bridging the digital divide in developing countries thereby achieving its goal of reaching 5 million women across Africa by 2030.   

Launched in 2021, the initiative has seen over 15,000 women across 15 African countries benefit and graduate from its programs, learning in-demand tech skills in eight well curated learning tracks namely Mobile App Development, Software Development, Product Design, Product Management, Cybersecurity, Data Science/ Artificial Intelligence Engineering, Blockchain and Mixed Reality/3D.