Desmond Tutu said, and I quote, “If we are going to see real development in the world, then our best investment is WOMEN!”

Rubies Tech Foundation, a subsidiary of Rubies Technologies dedicated to training children in coding, noticed the huge gap between the male and female genders in the Tech world. They see it as one of their responsibilities to empower the girl child. Being a subset of a brand called Rubies Technologies, a brand that trains kids in coding.

At the early hour of Saturday, April 20th, 2024, in the city of Nigeria’s Silicon Valley, Yaba, at AM Civil Hive, Montgomery, Sabo, Yaba, Rubies Tech Foundation held a sensitization training to prepare the Teen Girls ahead of her Girl Tech Bootcamp Staged for May 2024.

Miss Temiloluwa Afape It was a mix of joy and hope as parents brought their wards to the events to set them on the path to one of the most advancing areas of the world. It was largely written on the faces of the teen girls that they were eager and ready to kickstart their paths in Tech.

Miss Temiloluwa Afape, The Creative Founder, and her team welcomed the teen Girls and their parents as the teen volunteers were a mix of Secondary school Students, Secondary school Leavers, and Undergraduates in the early years of school.

In her speech, she divulged what inspired the training and what they tend to achieve with the training. “In 2022, we started a project during the summer, The Tech Up Bootcamp, to teach kids in low-income communities for free during their summer holiday for one to two weeks. After two years of running these projects and impacting over 200 in three different locations, we identified that while we empower the next generation of tech giants, there are still some issues that we might have to deal with, which include the gender gap in tech. We have had a more significant percentage of boys attend these training, and even the girls who attend manage to pull through for many reasons. This gap has been observed for a long time but became a thing to note after our Tech Up project in Epe. This year, we plan to reach more girls by crafting a program to upskill them and create a safe space for them to learn.”

Also, Mr. Adefila Ayobami, The project Manager expressed how he felt with how the pre-training went, “We hosted Girls Tech Bootcamp (GTB) pre-training session with the aim to empower young girls in technology. The pre-training introduced participants to computer programming fundamentals, fostering confidence and curiosity alongside technical skills. Through personalized guidance and motivational discussions, the session left attendees feeling empowered and inspired to pursue careers in tech.”

“Rubies Tech Foundation is still open to sponsorship, partnerships, and volunteers ahead of the main training in May 2024 to support their mission of empowering future tech leaders. Investing in the Girls Tech Bootcamp will contribute immensely to creating a more inclusive and innovative future in the technology world we can never imagine.”

After the whole training, a participant with the name Ramat Alabi conveyed her enthusiasm. She said, “today’s training was awe-inspiring and beyond expectation. I’m inspired to go home and learn more so as not to lag behind when the training starts. I urge everyone who cares about Girls Empowerment to support Girls Tech Bootcamp (GTB) in any way they can for the growth of training.”

Another participant, Boluwatife Alaba said, “The training was great, fun, and inspiring. I learned the history and basics of Python, I was taught to program “hello world”, I felt like a programmer for the first time. Also, I’m impressed by how my fellow participants were loving, inspiring, and eager to work together.”

Words cannot quantify the happiness and fulfillment largely written on the faces of the organizers, which will inspire them to do more to help the teen girls push their dreams of becoming Tech Experts.