As concerns persist over gender inequality in science, technology and innovation in Nigeria, the KSH Foundation has intensified its efforts to empower young women with digital and entrepreneurial skills, stressing that deliberate investment in girls is essential to narrowing the country’s technology gap.
The non-profit organisation, established by Khalil Suleiman Halilu in 2022, recently unveiled the third edition of its Every Girl Fellowship, a technology-driven initiative focused on equipping girls with skills in digital literacy, artificial intelligence (AI), entrepreneurship, mentorship and innovation.
The initiative comes amid growing concerns about the underrepresentation of women in emerging technologies, despite the increasing role of technology in driving economic growth, healthcare, governance and education.
Speaking during the Every Girl 3.0 Reveal Ceremony in Abuja, Founder of KSH Foundation, Khalil Suleiman Halilu, said the programme was created to provide opportunities that many talented girls have historically been denied.
According to him, the fellowship was designed as a long-term commitment aimed at nurturing female leaders capable of shaping Africa’s digital future rather than serving as a short-term intervention.
“From day one, we wanted to build something that outlived trends and headlines. Today, I can confidently say the idea is still standing, and even better, it has grown beyond our expectations,” Halilu stated.
Reflecting on his experience working alongside accomplished women, Halilu noted that he identified a significant need to create more opportunities for girls who lack access to quality platforms.
“I realised there could be more women in those rooms, but there were limited spaces that gave girls access without compromising standards. So we decided to build what we couldn’t find, and Every Girl began, not as a programme, but as a promise to one girl multiplied,” he added.
He revealed that the fellowship has recorded significant growth, attracting participants from 15 states across Nigeria and receiving more than 400 applications during the selection process.
“Four hundred is not just a number. It represents 400 girls who believed enough to imagine themselves here and families who trusted us with that responsibility,” he said.
This year’s edition deliberately expanded its curriculum to include artificial intelligence and FemTech, sectors the foundation considers critical to the future of innovation.
“Whether we like it or not, artificial intelligence will shape the next 50 years, and we refuse to allow our girls to merely learn about it. We want them to shape it,” Halilu said.
He further explained that women’s health was incorporated into the programme through FemTech, noting that women should play a leading role in designing solutions to challenges affecting half of the world’s population.
Halilu attributed the programme’s success to strategic partnerships, consistency and a focus on practical skills development.
“Every Girl was never about a single event. It is about that girl sitting somewhere in one of our communities wondering whether she is allowed to dream of a future in technology, engineering, healthcare or AI. Every Girl tells her ‘yes.’ We already believe in you. Now go and believe in yourself,” he said.
He added that the foundation seeks to bridge technology access gaps by exposing girls to opportunities they rarely encounter, including mentorship, institutional visits, interactions with inspiring leaders, and support tools such as laptops and seed funding.
“Girls have been sidelined for too long. We must lead by example. That is why we continue to encourage institutions to prioritise women, not just through advocacy but through practical programmes,” he stated.
Halilu also encouraged beneficiaries to become ambassadors of the initiative by sharing their knowledge and inspiring others.
Project Coordinator of Every Girl, Farida Yahya, said the third edition intentionally broadened its reach to underserved communities while maintaining merit as the basis for selection.
According to her, girls from Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones participated in a rigorous virtual learning phase before the final selection process.
“Technology is an enabler. We wanted these girls to understand that they can use technology to unlock opportunities for themselves and for their communities,” Yahya said.
“Our focus was inclusion without compromising excellence. Every fellow selected earned her place through merit. They presented ideas, completed assessments and demonstrated exceptional potential.”
She noted that the programme has evolved into a supportive ecosystem where participants gain not only digital and entrepreneurial skills but also the confidence to develop technology-driven solutions.
“We are not simply teaching skills. We are building a sisterhood that helps young women believe in themselves and rewrite what is possible for girls in today’s digital economy,” she added.
Also speaking, Director of Operations and Rescue at the Citizenship and Leadership Training Centre (CLTC), Dr. Alero Ajekuta, described the initiative as timely and emphasised the need for Nigerian girls to see themselves as innovators and employers.
“It is time the girl child believes more in herself. Programmes like this encourage girls to embrace digital technology and develop skills that make them employers of labour instead of merely searching for white-collar jobs,” she said.
Ajekuta stressed that women’s education should no longer be viewed through traditional stereotypes.
“The era when people believed a woman’s education ended in the kitchen is over. Today, a woman’s education ends in the boardroom. When you empower a woman, she becomes a catalyst for positive change and inspires others to succeed,” she stated.
Beneficiaries of the fellowship also shared testimonies on how the programme transformed their perspectives.
One of the fellows, Jonas Chinenyenwa Princess Anne, said she acquired practical skills in content creation, confidence building and no-code application development.
“I have learned how to monetise my skills and even build applications without writing a single line of code. I am returning home with confidence, new ideas and the determination to create impact in my community,” she said.
Another participant, Hafsat Ibrahim-Barde, a medical student, noted that the programme showed her how innovation could be integrated into healthcare.
“The fellowship introduced me to technology and entrepreneurship and showed me that I can solve real-life problems through innovation, even as a medical student,” she said.
For participants and partners, the Every Girl Fellowship represents more than a youth development initiative. It reflects a growing recognition that expanding girls’ access to technology, mentorship and innovation is vital to building an inclusive digital economy and ensuring Nigerian women are not left behind in the rapidly evolving world of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies.
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