On Saturday, March 10th 2018, over 100 women in tech and business attended the Andela Women in Technology Summit 2018. The conference, organized by Andela, a company recognized for building a network of technology leaders on the African continent, was hosted at the EPIC Tower, Lagos with the theme ‘Investing in Tomorrow’s Leaders.’

The event which was in celebration of International Women’s Day reinforces Andela’s commitment to diversity and inclusion in Nigeria’s tech ecosystem. At the event, attendees partook in lively discussions and debates with Andela’s female executives, senior technologists and developers including Taiwo Judah Ajayi, Director of People and Culture; Jessica Akano, Talent Acquisition Manager; Feyikemi Olabiyi, Product Manager, and Mercy Orangi, Technology Leadership Evangelist.

They were also joined by some of Lagos’ leading female tech influencers like Chika Uwazie, COO, EnterFive; Esther Olatunde, CTO & Engineering Lead at Tress App and Moyinoluwa Adeyemi, Android Engineer at OffGrid Electric, all of whom discussed the role of stakeholders and leaders in promoting diversity in the tech community. The event concluded with a fireside chat, named after the theme, with Simi Nwogugu, Executive Director, Junior Achievement Nigeria and moderated by Oluwasola Obagbemi, Communications Manager, Andela.

Since launching in 2014, Andela has played an instrumental role in paving the way for women in the tech industry through its commitment to attracting and developing female talent. The company’s various initiatives include multiple all-female recruitment cycles as well as building safe and empowering communities for women in tech, such as Tech in Pink and Ladies in Tech.

According to Taiwo Judah Ajayi, a lack of a strong, cohesive culture is holding the tech industry back from building more female leaders and executives, which is why the leading women in tech need to start the discussions and ask how they can inspire other women to be future leaders.

“The aim of the Women in Tech Summit is to celebrate how far women have come in the tech ecosystem and to connect women in tech, both leaders and aspirants. And what better time to do this than on the week of International Women’s Day?” she said. “The women interested in pursuing a career in tech are many, but the mentors and investors are few. Now is the time to have an open discussion on how we can stop our future leaders from slipping through the cracks. Today, we are building the biggest platform yet for women technologists and calling for more people to invest in tomorrow’s leaders.”

Since launching operations in 2014, Andela has received more than 75,000 applicants and accepted over 600 software developers, of which 26 percent are female, compared to the global average of seven percent. The company aims to make the Women in Tech Summit an annual landmark event in celebration of International Women’s Day.

Andela is a network of technology leaders dedicated to advancing human potential, helping companies build high-performing engineering teams by investing in Africa’s most talented software developers. Backed by CRE Venture Capital, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and Spark Capital, Andela is catalyzing the growth of tech ecosystems across the African continent while solving the global technical talent shortage.