Women's Technology Empowerment Centre


The Women's Technology Empowerment Centre, often referred to as W.TEC, is a non-profit organization that focuses on empowering Nigerian women and girls through the use of technology. It was founded in 2008 by Oreoluwa Lesi after noticing a gender gap in understanding of Information and Communications Technology throughout Nigeria and other African countries. Services and programs offered by W.TEC include mentoring, training in technology, technology camp, awareness campaigns, collaborative projects, and research and publication. In 2017, Facebook partnered with W.TEC to take efforts toward improved Internet safety. Partners for the annual girls camp include Prof. Kenneth Dike Central E-Library, Awka and the Anambra State Library Board, Hadassah STEM, Oracle, Sage Foundation and Swift Networks Limited and Laureates College, Lagos.
Over the years. W.TEC has greatly increased the scope of its work, reaching over 26,000 participants and expanding its work across Nigeria, including Kwara and Anambra states. W.TEC's work includes technology training programmes for girls through intensive girl-only camps and technology clubs. During the camps and afterschool clubs, the girls learn to create and innovate with technology, building and making websites, web applications, games, films and other digital content. The organisation advocates against and works to break down gender stereotypes, especially with respect to careers.
W.TEC has emerged as a leading organisation in the gender and technology space, winning awards such as the 2019 EQUALS in Tech award and the 2019 Nigeria Internet Registration Association Presidential Award for Women's Development. More recently, W.TEC emerged as a 2020 WSIS Prizes Champion.

Prestigious Visits

In March 2019, the inventor of the World Wide Web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee visited W.TEC, as part of a 30-hour tour to a few cities around the world to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the web. During his visit to W.TEC, he spoke about the “Contract for the Web.” With the audience largely made up of young girls, he wrote on his Twitter page that they were “Wonderful energy and creativity”. In January 2020, TIME asked a group of six prominent people to write to a young person or people of their own choosing. Sir Berners-Lee chose to write a letter to the girls of W.TEC in a letter.

Programmes

She Creates Camp
W.TEC Academy
Staying Safe Online
Research

Awards