Tech Women Fest: Building a Bigger Space for Women in Africa’s Tech Ecosystem

For the past three years, Tech Women Fest has been creating a space for women across Africa’s technology ecosystem to connect, learn, collaborate, build and discover new opportunities.

What started in 2024 as a platform designed to bring women together around conversations about technology and the future of Africa’s digital economy has grown into a significant gathering for women in tech.

Organised by NezaTech Africa and founded by Toyin Abioye, Tech Women Fest was created around a simple but important idea: women should not only be participants in Africa’s technology ecosystem; they should have the opportunity to shape it.

The inaugural edition in 2024 brought together more than 250 women passionate about technology and digital transformation. Since then, the festival has continued to expand its community, bringing together female founders, technology professionals, innovators, entrepreneurs, investors, aspiring tech talents and other ecosystem players.

And the conversations have evolved with the ecosystem.

Technology in Africa is no longer simply about getting more people online. It is about who gets to build the products, companies and solutions shaping how Africans work, communicate, learn, access financial services and participate in the global economy.

That makes spaces like Tech Women Fest increasingly important.

Across its editions, the festival has provided a platform for panel discussions, masterclasses, workshops, networking, mentorship, innovation showcases and conversations around the realities of building careers and businesses in technology.

But perhaps what makes the platform particularly interesting is that it doesn’t stop at the annual gathering.

Through NezaTech Africa, Toyin Abioye has been working to create opportunities for women beyond the conference, including technology training, mentorship, professional development and pathways to employment and entrepreneurship.

The Tech Women Fest Laptop Initiative is another example of this approach.

Recognising that access to a personal computer remains a very real barrier for many young women trying to build careers in technology, the initiative is providing laptops to eligible young women in Lagos, Ogun and Oyo States who are actively pursuing technology but do not have access to a working personal laptop.

It is a reminder that encouraging women to enter technology is one thing.

Giving them the tools and opportunities to actually participate is another.

NOW, TECH WOMEN FEST 3.0

The festival returns to Lagos on October 10, 2026, for its third edition.

This year’s theme, “The Bold Build: Disruptive Innovation and Africa’s AI Ascent,” reflects just how much the technology conversation has changed since the festival began.

Artificial intelligence is transforming industries. African startups are building increasingly sophisticated products. New technologies are changing the nature of work. And women across the continent are increasingly taking their place as founders, engineers, product leaders, researchers, investors, creatives and technology professionals.

Tech Women Fest 3.0 is expected to bring together women founders, innovators, tech professionals, operators, investors and ecosystem leaders for conversations around the opportunities and challenges shaping Africa’s next phase of technological growth.

For Toyin Abioye and NezaTech Africa, the festival is ultimately about more than one event.

It is about community.

It is about access.

It is about visibility.

And it is about creating an environment where women can meet the people, ideas, mentors and opportunities that can change the trajectory of their careers and businesses.

Three years in, Tech Women Fest is becoming part of the growing ecosystem of platforms helping to shape the conversation around women and technology in Africa.

And as the continent enters an era increasingly defined by AI, digital products and technological innovation, one question remains important:

Who gets to build the future?

Platforms like Tech Women Fest are making the answer increasingly clear:

More African women.

📍 Lagos, Nigeria
📅 October 10, 2026
🎯 Tech Women Fest 3.0 — The Bold Build: Disruptive Innovation and Africa’s AI Ascent

For registration and more information, visit techwomenfest.com.