The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) is an international network of organizations that was founded in 1990 to provide communication infrastructure, including Internet-based applications, to groups and individuals who work for peace, human rights, protection of the environment, and sustainability. Pioneering the use of ICTs for civil society, especially in developing countries, APC were often the first providers of Internet in their member countries.
Nnedimma Nkemdili "Nnedi" Okorafor is a Nigerian-American writer of science fiction and fantasy for both children and adults. She is best known for her Binti Series and her novels Who Fears Death, Zahrah the Windseeker, Akata Witch, Akata Warrior, Lagoon and Remote Control. She has also written for comics and film.
Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is an umbrella term used to group together the distinct but related technical disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The term is typically used in the context of education policy or curriculum choices in schools. It has implications for workforce development, national security concerns and immigration policy.
BCSWomen is a Specialist Group of the British Computer Society, The Chartered Institute for IT, that provides networking opportunities for all BCS professional women working in IT around the world, as well as mentoring and encouraging girls and women to enter or return to IT as a career. Founded by Dr Sue Black, as of March 2020 the Chair of BCSWomen is Andrea Palmer. BCSWomen has the aim of supporting women working in and considering a career in Information Technology.
The Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing (GHC) is a series of conferences designed to bring the research and career interests of women in computing to the forefront. It is the world's largest gathering of women in computing. The celebration, named after computer scientist Grace Hopper, is organized by the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology. GHC 2022 conference was held hybrid in Orlando and virtually at the end of September 2022.
Marieme Jamme is a Senegalese-born French-British businesswoman and technology activist. In 2016 she founded the iamtheCODE initiative and is on the board of the World Wide Web Foundation. In 2017, Quartz Africa included Jamme in their "Quartz Africa Innovators 2017" list. In 2013 she was nominated as a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum. In 2017, she won the "Innovation Award" in The Goalkeepers Global Goal Awards, curated by UNICEF and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, for globally supporting girls and young women and advancing the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. That same year, she was listed as one of BBC's 100 Women.
Olufunke Baruwa is a Nigerian gender and development practitioner, feminist and public speaker with a focus on gender, public policy and governance. For more than two decades, she has been at the forefront of social policies and reforms in Nigeria working with government, civil society and international development partners.
Ethel Delali Cofie is an IT professional, entrepreneur and consultant for IT projects. She is from the Republic of Ghana. She is the founding member of Women in Tech Africa, organization working for the empowerment of African women by enabling the technological source.
Rhonda Vetere is an author, technology industry expert, keynote speaker, and panelist. She was formerly Executive Vice President, Chief Information Officer, and on the Executive Board of Herbalife Nutrition.
Oreoluwa Somolu Lesi is a Nigerian social entrepreneur and UK-trained economist and information technology expert. She is the founder and executive director of Women's Technology Empowerment Centre (W.TEC), a non-profit organisation that empowers women and girls socially and economically through education in Information technology. W.TEC was established in the year 2008. She is a fellow of Ashoka and a recipient of the Anita Borg Institute (ABIE) Change Agent Award.
The Information Technology University (ITU) is a public university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Founded in 2012, the university was founded and headed by Umar Saif and is modeled after the MIT.
The Women's Technology Empowerment Centre (W.TEC) is a non-profit organization that provides technology education for women and girls in Nigeria. W.TEC offers services and programs including mentoring, training, technology camps, awareness campaigns, collaborative projects, and research and publication in order to empower women.
Njideka Françoise Harry is a World Economic Forum Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship Fellow.
Women in Tech Africa (WiTA) is an organization with a focus on entrepreneurship expansion and multiplying the numbers of females in technology especially in Africa. It was founded by Ethel D Cofie. Over the years, WiTA has strategically focused on enabling women to drive Africa's growth story and create impact on personal life through technology. Currently, its target audience comprises aspiring female tech entrepreneurs between the ages of 18–40. Women in Tech Africa is the largest group on the continent with membership across 30 countries globally with physical chapters in Ghana, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Somaliland, Germany, Ireland, Kenya, Tanzania and Mauritius.
Ivy Barley is a Ghanaian entrepreneur, program manager and women in tech activist. She is the co-founder of Developers in Vogue, an organization that is paving the way for more African women to take up opportunities in the tech industry. In January 2022, GhanaWeb featured Barley as one of the 3 Ghanaian ‘Women in Tech’ making strides on the international corporate scene. In 2017 and 2019, Barley was listed as one of the Top 50 Most Influential Young Ghanaians by Avance Media.
Nkiru Balonwu is an entrepreneur and activist based in Lagos, Nigeria. She is known for her staunch views of women as the solution to Africa's problems and is the founder and chair of African Women on Board, an independent, African women-led non-profit organisation focused on advancing narratives to improve realities for women and girls of African heritage. She is also founder and managing partner of RDF Strategies, a consultancy firm that provides advice on strategic communication and stakeholder engagement. In 2016, during her time at the helm of Spinlet, Balonwu was featured in YNaija as one of "Nigeria's 100 Most Inspiring Women". In October 2019, Balonwu was awarded the 2020 Powerlist International Award by the Powerlist UK.
Best Weretamarapere Atti, popularly known as Bestie Tamara Atti is a Nigerian lawyer, technology entrepreneur, business development professional, women development consultant and founder of Bestie Network Africa, a social enterprise that promotes education, entrepreneurship, innovation and leadership for young African women. She is also the co-founder and CEO of Corporate Bestie, a technology company that provides an all-in-one incorporation and regulatory compliance tool for entrepreneurs and enterprises to start, launch and manage their businesses without stress or complex paper work so that they can grow, get access to funding, build customer loyalty, develop investor trust, create new jobs and contribute to economic development.
Africanfuturism is a cultural aesthetic and philosophy of science that centers on the fusion of African culture, history, mythology, point of view, with technology based in Africa and not limiting to the diaspora. It was coined by Nigerian American writer Nnedi Okorafor in 2019 in a blog post as a single word. Nnedi Okorafor defines Africanfuturism as a sub-category of science fiction that is "directly rooted in African culture, history, mythology and point-of-view..and...does not privilege or center the West," is centered with optimistic "visions in the future," and is written "people of African descent" while rooted in the African continent. As such its center is African, often does extend upon the continent of Africa, and includes the Black diaspora, including fantasy that is set in the future, making a narrative "more science fiction than fantasy" and typically has mystical elements. It is different from Afrofuturism, which focuses mainly on the African diaspora, particularly the United States. Works of Africanfuturism include science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, horror and magic realism.
Elicia Maine is a Canadian academic. She is the W.J. VanDusen Professor of Innovation & Entrepreneurship within Simon Fraser University's Beedie School of Business. She was the founding educational coordinator for New Ventures BC, and the founding Academic Director of Invention to Innovation (i2I), an award-winning graduate program in science & technology commercialization offered in traditional and online formats. Within Simon Fraser University, she serves as Associate Vice President, Knowledge Mobilization & Innovation, providing oversight of SFU Innovates.
Ibilola Amao is a Nigerian engineer, principal consultant of Lonadek Services and consultant for the vision 2020 initiative. She received several awards such as most active women business enterprise IWEC 2016, Energy Institute Champion 2016, C3E international woman of distinction Award, Access Bank “W” 100, and the 2019 Forbes Africa rising star Award. She was a Vital Voices (VV) GROW fellow, a member of vv100 and a WEConnect international fellow. Ibilola was also the co-founder of the cedar STEM and entrepreneurship hub.
