She Code Africa calls for policy, capital support to deepen women’s role in tech

She Code Africa is calling for stronger policy, education, investment and workplace support to help African women move beyond entering technology into leadership, business ownership and decision-making.

Ada Nduka Oyom, founder and executive director of She Code Africa, said the organisation’s decade of experience had shown that getting women into technology was only the beginning, with sustained participation requiring capital, leadership opportunities, relevant education and supportive workplaces.

Speaking at the She Code Africa Summit in Lagos recently, themed “A Decade of Impact: African Women Architecting the Digital Future,” Oyom argued that She Code Africa cannot do this alone, and it takes an ecosystem, which must include employers that create inclusive workplaces, educators who make technical learning accessible, investors willing to back women-led businesses, and policymakers who understand the barriers women face.

“We need policymakers who actually understand the barriers that women face. Because if you don’t have women or individuals who really understand what we face as women, it’s going to be hard for them to make policies that will improve our own lives,” Oyom said.

The organisation, which began in 2016, has reached more than 65,000 women and girls and built a community of more than 50,000 members across more than 20 African countries and firmly believe the next phase is less about increasing participation numbers and more about what women are able to do after entering the sector.

The founder emphasized that the next decade should see more African women move from participants to builders, leaders, investors and people defining the direction of technology on the continent.

Napa Onwusah, managing partner at B4B Partners, reinforced the argument, saying greater access to technology had not necessarily translated into equal access to leadership, business ownership and capital.

“Access has gotten us here. But the question I want to ask us all, are we satisfied with just having access?” Onwusah said at the summit.

Onwusah said the focus should shift from women’s presence in technology to their ability to exercise power within the sector, including by building businesses, leading companies, funding ideas and sponsoring other women.

“We need more women who have money that can fund projects,” she said.

She added that female solo founders and all-women founding teams received less than one percent of tracked African startup funding, compared with 91 percent for male solo founders and all-male teams, while mixed-gender founding teams accounted for eight percent.

The funding gap highlights the difference between giving women access to technology and giving them the financial capacity to build businesses and influence the sector.

Oyom said She Code Africa’s next decade would therefore require “bigger thinking, stronger systems, ownership, capital and ambition”, with women positioned not only to participate in technology but to shape its future.