Nigeria’s tech sector is one of the fastest-growing on the continent, and the data behind that growth reveals how much further it needs to go. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, women constitute approximately 22 percent of the total number of STEM graduates annually in Nigeria. In the startup ecosystem, the picture is equally telling: a 2025 report by VerivAfrica found that of 614 Nigerian startups, only 127 (20.7%) are female co-founded, and just 74 (12.1%) have a female CEO. Beneath these figures lies a more foundational problem. USAID reported in 2023 that the gender gap in internet usage in Nigeria stood at approximately 17.05%, with women and girls consistently having less access to technology than men and boys.
The divide deepens by geography: only 42 percent of women in rural settings own a mobile phone, compared to 78 percent in urban centers, a gap of 46 percentage points. These numbers are not abstractions. They represent millions of girls growing up outside the digital conversation entirely.
Inclusion in the digital space is an economic and social imperative, and the evidence makes this plain. The Minister of Women Affairs has stated that closing gender gaps in Nigeria could add N15 trillion to the country’s GDP by the end of 2025. Beyond macroeconomics, a girl with digital fluency gains access to markets, to learning, to networks, and to choices that would otherwise remain out of reach. When women are systematically locked out of the digital economy, the country builds its future with half its talent pool sidelined. In 2024, female-led tech ventures secured only $48 million, or 2 percent, of total startup funding, compared to $2.2 billion for male-led counterparts. The cost of exclusion is measurable, and it compounds every year that the gap remains unaddressed.
Hence, the question is no longer whether girls should be included in technology. The more pressing reality is that opportunities already exist, and they are steadily expanding across Nigeria. What remains uneven is access and awareness. Across the country, a growing ecosystem of programmes, competitions, and training initiatives is opening doors for girls to enter and thrive in ICT.
At a national level, initiatives such as the Girls in ICT Competition by the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy are introducing secondary school girls to digital problem-solving, mentorship, and innovation. These programmes do more than teach skills. They create early confidence and exposure, which often determine long-term career trajectories.
Beyond government efforts, organisations like Women’s Technology Empowerment Centre are providing immersive experiences through initiatives such as the She Creates Camp, where girls engage directly with artificial intelligence, robotics, and data-driven problem-solving. These environments are intentionally practical, shifting girls from passive users of technology to active creators.
Similarly, Women in Technology in Nigeria is equipping young women with market-relevant skills in areas such as UI/UX design, data analytics, and software development. The significance of this lies in its direct link to employability and entrepreneurship, ensuring that ICT becomes not just an academic pursuit, but a viable economic pathway.
Mentorship also plays a defining role. Communities like Girls in Tech Nigeria are building networks where girls can access guidance, industry insight, and long-term support. In many cases, mentorship becomes the bridge between initial interest and sustained participation.
At a broader level, institutions such as the National Information Technology Development Agency continue to expand digital training initiatives across the country, particularly in underserved regions. The impact of such programmes is often exponential. One trained girl frequently becomes a source of knowledge and inspiration within her community.
Despite this growing ecosystem, a critical gap remains. Many girls are still unaware that these opportunities exist. Others are unable to access them due to financial limitations, lack of devices, or geographical constraints. Opportunity, in itself, is not enough. Without access, it remains out of reach.
At TKM Foundation, we believe that exposure changes everything. When a girl is introduced to technology early, something shifts. Curiosity replaces hesitation. This is why programmes around digital literacy, access to devices, and mentorship are critical. Each element depends on and strengthens the others. The girl who types her first line of code, who navigates her first spreadsheet, who builds her first slide deck for a community project, is doing more than acquiring a skill. She is rewriting her own story of what is possible for someone like her.
Our role, therefore, is not only to create new programmes, but to bridge the gap between existing opportunities and the girls who need them most. This means creating awareness within underserved communities, providing access to digital tools and internet connectivity, connecting girls to existing programmes and initiatives, supporting them with guidance and encouragement as they take their first steps. Because when access meets opportunity, transformation becomes possible.
Beyond Awareness: What Action Looks Like
What action looks like in 2026 and beyond is specific, sustained, and scalable. Progress requires more than recognition. It requires participation.
Supporting girls in ICT can take many forms; investing in organisations that provide digital education and access, volunteering time or expertise to mentor young girls, advocating for inclusive learning environments, providing devices, internet access, or learning resources where possible. Most importantly, celebrating every girl who builds something, recognising that the girl who uses digital tools to solve a local problem is as important to Nigeria’s future as any headline-making founder.
A Future Worth Building
The future is being shaped by those who understand and build technology. Every economy that failed to include women in its digital transformation eventually had to invest far more in correction than inclusion would ever have cost. Girls already belong in the digital future. The work ahead is to build a future worthy of what they will create when access is no longer the barrier standing between their potential and the world. At TKM Foundation, we are committed to creating opportunities that ensure no girl is left behind in the digital age.
If this matters to you, there is a place for you in this work.
Support, Partner, Mentor.
Sources
[Vanguard News] (https://www.vanguardngr.com/2025/07/the-looming-digital-future-why-nigeria-cannot-afford-to-leave-girls-behind/)
[Vanguard News] (https://www.vanguardngr.com/2025/07/the-looming-digital-future-why-nigeria-cannot-afford-to-leave-girls-behind/)
