On September 28th, 2024, over 1,000 women gathered at the Landmark Event Centre for the Wetech 2024 Conference.
Hosted by Wetech, a non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting gender equality and empowering women in technology, the conference celebrated five years of significant impact under the theme: “5 Years of Women Redefining Technology and Entrepreneurship.”
The event, deemed successful by the organisers and several participants, served as a testament to Wetech’s transformative journey, showcasing the organisation’s success stories and future aspirations while highlighting the critical need for more women-driven initiatives in the tech ecosystem across Africa.
Featuring insightful panel sessions, a keynote speech, mentorship opportunities, and a pitch contest that showcased innovative solutions by female founders, Wetech 2024 provided a platform for celebrating women’s achievements, sharing impactful stories, and laying the groundwork for future progress.
Founders on a journey to impact
The event kicked off with an inspiring panel session featuring Gabriella Uwadiegwu and Flora Uwadiegwu, the co-founders of Wetech, moderated by Lady Kay.
The duo shared the journey behind Wetech, from its humble beginnings as a philanthropic initiative funded by Gabriella’s internship money to a structured not-for-profit organisation impacting thousands of women in the tech space.
Gabriella, an engineer by training, spoke about her motivation to create Wetech during her undergraduate years, making it accessible and free for women to break into tech.
Meanwhile, Flora joined the organisation following a series of events that happened in 2020, particularly pandemic-related layoffs. She recounted the life-changing experience of attending a $10,000 coding boot camp, which led to a new career path as a developer. Inspired by her sister’s work, she became a co-founder, bringing her unique perspective.
The co-founders also highlighted the challenges of running a fully remote team and securing partnerships as a non-profit in an ecosystem where sustainability is often questioned.
Despite these challenges, Gabriella and Flora emphasised their commitment to expanding Wetech’s impact, with a strategic focus on connecting the African tech diaspora, fostering deeper partnerships, and scaling globally in the next five years.
Spotlighting products of Wetech’s impact
Another notable session, The Impact of Wetech in Nigeria: Community Spotlight and Storytelling, brought together past beneficiaries and mentors, including Damilola, Arafah, Amarachi, and Grace, to share their personal experiences with the Wetech community.
Damilola, a former project manager at Wetech, shared how the organisation shaped her career trajectory, inspiring her to enter the investment space to advocate for more funding towards female-led initiatives. Arafah, a former ambassador, spoke about the empowerment and confidence she gained through her association with Wetech.
Amarachi, mentored by Gabriella, emphasised that her growth and career progress are completely linked to the organisation. Grace, a current mentor, lauded Wetech’s strong community spirit, which continues to foster a sense of belonging and empowerment among its members.
The panellists reiterated their commitment to giving back, mentoring the next generation, and championing women founders to increase visibility and recognition for their efforts.
A masterclass on making data-driven decisions
The keynote session by Adora Nwodo, titled How Data Keeps the Lights On, was a masterclass in understanding the importance of data-driven decision-making in today’s technology landscape.
Using real-world examples of major companies like Facebook, Netflix, and GitHub experiencing outages, Adora highlighted how observability frameworks help predict, detect, and respond to system failures before they cause significant disruptions.
She broke down the three critical stages of observability:
What has happened: Reviewing past events to understand the cause.
What is happening: Monitoring current system health.
What may happen: Predicting and planning for future scenarios.
With these insights, Adora urged companies to prioritise proactive monitoring from the early stages of their growth, stating, “If you can’t create a system that you can monitor and proactively manage when it’s small, how do you want to scale monitoring when it becomes large?”
Strategies for career advancement in tech
Another fully-packed panel titled Strategies for Career Advancement in Tech, moderated by Nkemdilim Uwaje-Begho (CEO, FutureSoft Resources Ltd), explored the importance of continuously pivoting and staying adaptable in a rapidly evolving industry.
Samira Nwaturocha (Co-founder, Scrurity Limited) advised attendees to “become water” in challenging situations, embracing flexibility to navigate perceived career roadblocks.
Folake Owodunni (CEO & Co-founder, Emergency Response Africa and recipient of the Aurora Tech Award in 2023), and Antoinette Edodo (Chief Strategy Officer, Heirs Technologies) provided insights on finding non-technical roles in tech and developing critical skills like communication and presentation to thrive in technical environments.
Oluwafemi Akintilo (Head of Engineering, AB InBev Africa) and Bode Abifarin (Founder/CEO, Strata) emphasised the importance of getting a mentor or coach, continuous learning, becoming visible, and speaking out about one’s achievements while avoiding shortcuts.
PitchHer contest: Celebrating female innovators
One of the highlights of the event was the PitchHer startup competition, sponsored by Flutterwave, where innovative female founders showcased their solutions before a panel of seasoned judges including Oluwadunni Fanibe (Programs Manager, Techsters), Lamide Akinola (General Manager, Glovo), Tosin Ademokoya (Investment Analyst, Octerra Capital), Amaka Opara (Founding Partner, WEAV Capital), and Tosin Faniro-Dada (Partner, Breega).
The session featured pitches from:
Ngozi Nwabuze (Pocket Lawyers): A comprehensive digital platform enabling lawyers to digitise their operations.
Esther Eruchie (FriendnPal): An AI-driven multilingual mental health support platform.
Ruby Ihekweme (Digitaley Drive): A coding class platform leveraging AI for personalised learning.
Omolara Sanni (Middleman): A platform facilitating seamless Africa-China trade by funding e-commerce businesses’ Alipay wallets.
Uchechi Arinze (WafflesAI): A WhatsApp-based customer service response chatbot focused on Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya.
After rigorous evaluation based on criteria like problem identification, solution, market opportunity, and traction, Middleman was announced as the winner, impressing the judges with its focus on solving a key pain point in the African e-commerce market and the solution’s potential to scale.
Amidst fanfare and an animated crowd, the winner was presented with a cheque for the grand prize of ₦4 million, among other benefits.
What the future looks like for Wetech
As Wetech marks its fifth anniversary, the organisation and community remain committed to deepening their impact. For the co-founders, the impact would mean improved access to opportunities for women in tech, irrespective of their levels.
With ambitious plans to connect the diaspora, build strategic partnerships, and champion quality talent, Gabriella confirmed that the reception has been encouraging.
“We’re currently doing an experiment with some top technology undergraduate universities, and working with people within the tech industry—engineers, operators, etc.—to glean their expertise and connections. Envisioning this over the next five years, we want to build a large community within the diaspora as well.”
The Wetech 2024 Conference was not just a celebration of past achievements but also a call to action for women to continue breaking barriers, building networks, and driving change to ensure they are not overlooked. Wetech’s goal is to identify more raw talent and groom them to fit industry standards.
As Gabriella aptly stated, “There need to be more platforms like this to celebrate, empower, educate, and offer opportunities to women within the technology space.”
With this momentum, Wetech is poised to make the next five years even more transformative, solidifying its role as a catalyst for gender equality in Africa’s tech ecosystem.
Wetech 2024 was proudly sponsored by…
Aurora Tech Award by inDrive — Gold Sponsor
The Award is an annual global prize established by inDrive to recognise and empower women entrepreneurs in IT. inDrive, a leading global mobility and urban services platform, operates in over 700 cities across 45 countries on five continents.
With more than 150 million downloads, inDrive is ranked second globally among mobility services on both the Play Store and App Store.
The call for applications for this year’s Aurora Tech Award is now open until November 21st. Click here to apply.
ICP Hub Sahara — Gold Sponsor
Internet Computer Protocol (ICP) is a groundbreaking blockchain platform enabling scalable, secure, and cost-effective decentralised applications. With features like Chain Fusion for cross-chain interoperability and customisable Subnets, ICP powers Web3 innovation, real-world asset tokenisation, and advanced digital solutions.
Flutterwave — PitchHER Award Sponsor
Flutterwave, a leading American fintech that empowers global merchants with innovative payment solutions gave the winner of the PitchHer contest a ₦4 million funding prize.
Their dedication to mentoring women entrepreneurs makes their partnership with Wetech 2024 an exciting boost for tech dreams!
International Breweries Nigeria, part of AB InBev — Bronze Sponsor
Through the International Breweries Foundation, they enrich communities and foster sustainable growth by empowering entrepreneurs.
Standard Chartered — Bronze Sponsor
With a legacy of over 160 years, Standard Chartered has been at the forefront of driving sustainable economic growth across the globe. Their commitment to creating positive impacts in the communities they serve aligns perfectly with our mission, and we are excited to collaborate with them in making this event a success.
Archangel Fund — Bronze Sponsor
Archangel Fund is at the forefront of building a more equitable ecosystem for women entrepreneurs across Africa and its diaspora. By investing in and supporting women-led startups, they drive innovative solutions that have the power to transform communities and change lives.
Anita B — Exhibition Partner
AnitaB is dedicated to building a tech world that mirrors the diversity of its users. They empower women and non-binary technologists through programmes that inspire, connect, and support their growth in technical fields. By collaborating with organisations and academic institutions, AnitaB helps individuals reach their full potential.
Spurt! — Strategic Partner
Spurt! is a dynamic consultancy firm dedicated to accelerating growth in emerging markets through innovative business solutions. Their expertise in strategy, operations, and digital transformation will provide invaluable insights, helping to shape the future of our shared initiatives.
Heirs Technologies — Strategic Partner
Heirs Technologies is a leading innovator in the tech space, dedicated to delivering cutting-edge solutions that drive digital transformation across industries. With a focus on excellence and a commitment to empowering businesses, Heirs Technologies leverages advanced technology to create impactful, scalable solutions.
WEAV Capital — Founder Mixer Sponsor
Founded by Amaka Okechukwu Opara, WEAV Capital supports bold female founders across Africa. Their support will make our networking mixer a great chance to connect with industry leaders and peers.
