Deborah Giwa-Jones

Pioneering Nigerian tech entrepreneur empowering African women in STEM

Deborah Giwa-Jones (born 1975) is a Nigerian tech innovator and founder of the African Women in Technology (AWiT) network. Growing up in Lagos during the 1980s tech boom, she recognized the gender disparity in STEM fields early on. After earning computer science degrees from Covenant University and MIT, she launched AWiT in 2003 to create a support ecosystem for women in tech through mentorship programs and startup incubators. Her organization has since empowered over 50,000 women across 18 African countries, with notable alumni including Kenya's M-Farm co-founder Mercy Korir.

Giwa-Jones pioneered the 'Tech4Her' initiative that developed mobile apps addressing local challenges like maternal health tracking (now used in 34 hospitals) and agricultural market access for rural women. In 2015, she created Africa's first all-female hackathon series, attracting participants from 22 countries. Her work with UN Women to establish tech policy frameworks influenced Nigeria's 2020 Digital Economy Policy, mandating 30% female representation in tech governance bodies.

She co-founded the Pan-African Girls in ICT Network (PA-GiNT) which operates 86 coding academies. Her TEDx talk 'Rebooting Africa's Digital Future' has over 2M views and inspired similar initiatives in Senegal and Ethiopia. Giwa-Jones' advocacy led to the African Union adopting her proposal for continental tech quotas in 2022. She currently serves on the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council on Technology Governance.

Key partnerships include Microsoft's AI for Good program and UNESCO's Gender in STEM initiative. Her 2021 book 《African Tech Revolution》 details strategies for inclusive innovation. Giwa-Jones' impact extends beyond entrepreneurship, shaping regional policy and education frameworks that continue to transform Africa's digital landscape.