Laila Zaki

UAE-based education innovator empowering Arab girls through tech education

Laila Zaki is a visionary Emirati educator and founder of Code2Success, a nonprofit that has taught coding skills to over 15,000 girls across the Middle East. Born in Dubai in 1992, she noticed the gender gap in STEM fields during her computer science studies at NYU Abu Dhabi, leading her to create an Arabic-language coding curriculum in 2016. Her initiative now operates in 8 countries, with 75% of graduates entering tech careers.

Zaki's signature program 'Digital Daughters' combines robotics workshops with mentorship from tech industry leaders. In 2021, her team developed the Arabic Coding Platform, the first fully localized programming education tool for Arab youth. This innovation was adopted by the UAE Ministry of Education, reaching 200,000+ students by 2023.

Her advocacy led to the UN Women Emerging Leader Award in 2020. Zaki's TEDx talk 'How We Can Close the Girls' Digital Divide' has sparked global dialogue about inclusive tech education. Current projects include a partnership with SpaceX to train Arab female engineers for space tech roles. With 60% of Code2Success alumni now working in tech fields, Zaki's work is redefining gender dynamics in the Arab world's growing tech sector.