About

About Us

Girls and Women Technological Empowerment Organisation is a nonprofit organisation focused on empowering girls and women to be bold, confident and knowledgeable technology leaders.  We believe if girls and women are exposed to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) activities from an early age, they will be motivated to take up career paths in technology and hence the numbers of women in technology will increase significantly.

We build the capacities of girls and women with focus on renewable energy technology, environmental sustainability, ICT and self esteem building to instill entrepreneurial skills in young girls/women and to increase their economic power.

Mission

To bridge the gender, knowledge and skills gap in the technology industry, especially in the area of ICT, green and renewable energy technologies. This is achieved through capacity building programs, technology literacy training, technology camps, technology-based projects, mentoring, networking events, work placement and research.

Vision

A world where girls are women are bold to take up career path of their choice and are not discriminated or excluded from technology because of their gender.

Our Goals

  1. To sow the seed of technical career paths in girls and women.
  2. To mentor girls to know that girls and women can be technically oriented and choose a career path of their choice irrespective of their gender or social background.
  3. To create the much needed agents that will close the gender gap in the technology industry.
  4. To nurture bold and confident girls/women that will have the love of the environment and be advocates of ICT, clean and renewable energy in their respective communities.
  5. To reduce energy poverty especially in rural communities.
  6. To create awareness on causes, impacts and mitigation of climate change.
  7. To instill entrepreneurial skills in girls and young women.
  8. To research and implement programs that supports girls and women in technology.
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Board of Advisors

Damilola Abimbola Asaleye – Founder and Executive Director

Damilola is the Chief Operating Officer and co founder of Ashdam Solar Company Limited. As a young girl, having experienced the loss of a family member due to petrol explosion, Damilola dreamt of eradicating the dependence of Nigeria on fossil fuel and became passionate about alternative energy. At age 22, with a passion to solve the energy insecurity of Nigeria, she co-founded Ashdam Solar Company Limited and over the years has been involved in renewable energy offgrid and hybrid systems with innovative projects such as the mobile solar powered street snacks cart launched in February 2019. Damilola is the lead instructor of Ashdam Solar Academy, a subsidiary of Ashdam Solar Company Limited aimed at improving the technical know-how of renewable energy practitioners in Nigeria with international standards and have trained more than 500 practitioners to be successful technically inclined solar PV installers and entrepreneurs. Damilola is also a part time adjunct lecturer at Atiba University, a private university in Oyo state where she teaches Environment and Sustainable Development as a general studies course.

Being actively involved in a male dominated industry, Damilola have experienced gender discrimination first hand and as a way to change the narrative of the society as regards to the role of women in energy industry, she founded Girls and Women Technological Empowerment Organization (Previously named Ashdam Solar Initiative) where she collaborate to empower and mentor girls/women to be bold technology leaders, renewable energy advocates, climate change ambassadors and energy efficiency advocates. Damilola have empowered more than 1370 girls and 173 women through her initiatives. Damilola is a fellow of Open Africa Power 2020 (OAP20) and Enel Foundation. Damilola is concluding her doctoral research in Energy Engineering with specialty in renewable energy microgrid and demand side management. She has s international research publications on renewable energy topics. Damilola is a Robert Bosch Alumni Network member, a Ashoka Change Maker Xchange fellow, she was recognized as one of the foremost women in Renewable Energy Nigeria by the Environment Magazine in the year 2017 and was also awarded the Energy Professional of the year 2018 by the Nigeria Energy Awards. Her collaborative project named Solar 4 girls Naija was also nominated as world finalist for the world energy globe award 2017.

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