By Juliet Umeh 

As Nigeria works to strengthen its digital economy, industry stakeholders say the low participation of women in technology remains a major barrier to innovation and talent growth.

To address this gap, Africa’s all-in-one financial ecosystem, Moniepoint, has partnered with Google Developer Group Lagos and Women Techmakers Lagos to equip women with practical digital and leadership skills.

The initiative, themed “Break the Pattern,” was held at Moniepoint headquarters in Lagos as part of its International Women’s Day programme. It brought together women from both technical and non-technical backgrounds to learn product development, leadership skills, and AI-powered building tools.

Speaking at the event, Moniepoint’s Head of Product, Kemi Nwogu, said entrenched stereotypes continue to discourage girls from pursuing careers in science and technology, stressing the need to dismantle barriers limiting women’s progress in tech.

She urged participants to move beyond theory and focus on practical learning through coding bootcamps, open-source projects, and real-world problem solving.

The event also featured a panel session titled “Unscripted: Leading Beyond the Patterns We Inherited,” where industry leaders examined restrictive workplace cultures and leadership norms that often slow women’s advancement in tech.

Panelists included Chukwu Adaeze, Chinenye Ogbu, and Motunrayo Koyejo, who shared experiences on navigating and reshaping workplace expectations.

A hands-on workshop, “Prompt to Production,” facilitated by Taiwo Famakinde, trained participants to build and deploy applications using AI tools. Many attendees with little or no prior coding experience were able to develop functional products during a buildathon session.

Co-organiser of Women Techmakers Lagos, Funke Olasupo, said the goal was to bridge the gap between ideas and execution by enabling women to build real solutions in hours, not months.

Moniepoint said the initiative is part of broader investments in Nigeria’s tech talent pipeline through programmes such as Women in Tech, DreamDevs, HatchDev, and the 3MTT programme aimed at expanding digital skills nationwide.