The Women's Technology Empowerment Centre (W.TEC) is a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

that provides technology education for women and girls in

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. W.TEC offers services and programs including mentoring, training, technology

camps Camps may refer to: People *Ramón Camps (1927–1994), Argentine general *Gabriel Camps (1927–2002), French historian *Luís Espinal Camps (1932–1980), Spanish missionary to Bolivia *Victoria Camps (b. 1941), Spanish philosopher and professor ...

, awareness campaigns, collaborative projects, and research and publication to empower women.

History

Oreoluwa Lesi Oreoluwa Somolu Lesi is a Nigerian social Entrepreneurship, entrepreneur and UK-trained economist and information technology expert. She is the founder and executive director of Women's Technology Empowerment Centre (W.TEC), Nonprofit organizatio ...

noticed a

gender gap A gender gap, a relative disparity between people of different genders, is reflected in a variety of sectors in many societies. There exist differences between men and women as reflected in social, political, intellectual, cultural, scientific and ...

in the knowledge of

Information and communications technology Information and communications technology (ICT) is an extensional term for information technology (IT) that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications (telephone lines and wireless signals) and computer ...

and other African countries. She founded the organization in 2008 in

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

. Over the years, W.TEC has extended its scope, reaching over 26,000 participants and expanding into

Kwara Kwara () is a state in Western Nigeria, bordered to the east by Kogi State, to the north by Niger State, and to the south by Ekiti, Osun, and Oyo states, while its western border makes up part of the international border with Benin. Its capi ...

and

Anambra Anambra () is a state in Nigeria. It is located in the South-eastern region of the country. The state was created on 27 August 1991. Anambra state is bounded by Delta State to the west, Imo State and Rivers State to the south, Enugu State to ...

states. In 2017,

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

partnered with W.TEC to improve

Internet safety Internet safety, also known as online safety, cyber safety, and digital safety, is the science and practice of reducing harms that occur through the (mis)use of technology. It is a multidisciplinary, multi-stakeholder field that encompasses the des ...

Services

W.TEC's work includes technology-training programmes for girls through intensive girls-only camps and technology clubs in W.TEC academy. During the camps and after-school clubs, the girls learn to create and innovate with technology by building and making websites, web applications, video games, films, and other digital content. In the words of Adeola Akinyemiju, the Finance Director, W.TEC "is training girls on electronic and digital circuit technologies, web designs to bridge the gender gap in the engineering space." The organisation advocates against and works to break down

gender stereotype A gender role, or sex role, is a social norm deemed appropriate or desirable for individuals based on their gender or sex. Gender roles are usually centered on conceptions of masculinity and femininity. The specifics regarding these gendered ...

s, especially with respect to careers. In 2024 the reach out the Physically - challenged people and trained the on tech. Programmes operated by W.TEC include: * W.TEC Academy (Technology Afterschool Club) * Staying Safe Online * Research

Reception

In March 2019,

Tim Berners-Lee Sir Timothy John Berners-Lee (born 8 June 1955), also known as TimBL, is an English computer scientist best known as the inventor of the World Wide Web, the HTML markup language, the URL system, and HTTP. He is a professorial research fellow a ...

, the inventor of the

World Wide Web The World Wide Web (WWW or simply the Web) is an information system that enables Content (media), content sharing over the Internet through user-friendly ways meant to appeal to users beyond Information technology, IT specialists and hobbyis ...

, visited W.TEC as part of a worldwide tour in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Web. During his visit, he spoke about the "Contract for the Web". He later remarked that his audience, largely composed of young girls, had "wonderful energy and creativity". In 2020, ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine asked

to write to a young person or group of young people of his own choosing. He chose the girls of W.TEC.

Awards

Plan International Plan International is a development and humanitarian organisation based in the United Kingdom that works in over 80 countries across Africa, the Americas, and Asia, focusing on children’s rights. In 2024, Plan International reached 43 million ...

: ''Recognition for Supporting Girls in ICT'' (2009) *

International Telecommunication Union The International Telecommunication Union (ITU)In the other common languages of the ITU: * * is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information ...

(ITU): ''Gender Equality Mainstreaming – Technology (GEM-TECH) Award'' (finalist; Category 5: Closing the ICT Gender Gap; 2014) *

Nigeria Internet Registration Association The Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NIRA) oversees Nigeria's country code top-level domain A country code top-level domain (ccTLD) is an Internet top-level domain generally used or reserved for a country, sovereign state, or depende ...

(NIRA): ''Presidential Award for Women's Development'' (2019) * ''EQUALS in Tech Awards'' (Skills Category; 2019) * ITU: ''WSIS Prizes Champion'' (Access to Information and Knowledge Category; 2020)

References

{{use dmy dates, date=August 2021 Non-profit organizations based in Nigeria Organizations for women in science and technology Women's organizations based in Nigeria Organizations established in 2008