By Demola Akinyemi, Ilorin

Her Tech Africa, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) committed to empowering women and girls with digital skills, has so far empowered over 2000 women across Africa in diverse career paths and launched ‘Her STEM Club’.

This new initiative is aimed at igniting curiosity, boosting confidence, and inspiring secondary school girls to develop a sustained interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).

Her STEM Club was officially launched on Monday, May 26, 2025, at Socrates College, Ilorin, Kwara State, the alma mater of the organisation’s founder, Taofeeqah Bello.

In her remarks, Bello expressed concern that many girls with talent and potential often take wrong paths due to a lack of mentorship, structured guidance, and exposure to STEM and innovation, noting that this realisation informed the establishment of Her STEM Club.

She said that,“across Africa, countless girls grow up with dreams that fade under the weight of limitation, societal expectations, and lack of exposure. This is why we started the STEM/STEAM awareness initiative at Her Tech Africa — to break that cycle, one girl at a time,”

Following the launch of the initiative, about 120 female students of Socrates College participated in the first outreach of the initiative, which featured inspiring talks, hands-on STEM activities, and confidence-and-dream building sessions.

During the program,Bello, a product designer and her team introduced the students to the world of STEM and inspired them with the story of how technology has transformed her own life.

She emphasized the relevance of STEM in today’s world and encouraged the girls to envision how they, too, can shape their futures through innovation and technology.

While revealing plans to expand the outreach to other schools across Kwara State and beyond, the Her Tech Africa founder disclosed that her organisation had created a post-outreach virtual mentorship network designed to connect girls with mentors who will provide ongoing support and guidance as they explore STEM pathways.

“This outreach isn’t a one-time event. It’s the beginning of a longer journey. The HER STEM Club is our way of staying with these girls, mentoring them, sharing opportunities, and building a pipeline of confident, tech-enabled African women,” she noted.

Speaking on other activities of Her Tech Africa, Bello said her organisation has in the last one year, empowered over 2000 women across Africa through digital training, internship/job opportunities, scholarships, community support and resources for career success.

She said: “We recently concluded the Cohort 2 of our digital skills training, which was a remarkable success. With 32 professional tutors, we empowered over 100 women, many of whom are business owners, with digital skills like content creation, social media management, copy/content writing, and product management. At the end of the training, the top 4 students got a paid scholarship to continue their learning on Udemy.

“These are not just skills; they’re tools for economic growth, independence, and innovation. Through the two cohorts and other events, Her Tech Africa has now empowered over 2,000 women across diverse career paths. Our community spans 6 African countries (Nigeria, Rwanda, Ghana, Kenya, Côte d’Ivoire, and Zambia) and 2 countries outside Africa (India and Germany).”