The Girls’ Education and Skills Partnership (GESP) aims to support adolescent girls and young women to become more employable, entrepreneurial, and better skilled, allowing them to transition into employment, venture creation, or further education. Generation Unlimited, UNICEF, and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office along with global businesses including Accenture, Cognizant, Coursera, Microsoft, Pearson, PwC, Standard Chartered, Unilever, and Vodafone joined forces under the shared value partnership to advance learning to earning opportunities for adolescent girls and young women. Since 2023, more than 920,000 adolescent girls and young women across Bangladesh, India and Nigeria have benefited from girl-centred market-relevant opportunities.
As a key structure of GESP, the Girls’ Advisory Panel (GAP) was established for young women’s meaningful participation in GESP governance. Through a competitive selection process which required attending an orientation session and submitting an application, six young women from Nigeria and Bangladesh were selected as members of the GAP. Its members participate in the GESP Advisory Board, ensuring their perspectives are considered in key programmatic decisions. GAP also engages in joint advocacy and co-authoring of blogs and communication material to raise their voices on the critical challenges adolescent girls and young women face. The lead author of this blog - Deborah Sati Kesmen – is a member of the GESP GAP.
What happens when young women are equipped with the skills and confidence to take on the tech world?
Girls’ Education and Skills Partnership (GESP) is answering that question by equipping young women with the skills, mindset, and opportunities they need to succeed in the tech world in Nigeria. To understand the real impact of GESP on the lives of adolescent girls and young women (AGYW), Deborah, one of the GESP Girls’ Advisory Panel (GAP) members, interviewed seven inspiring young women participating in GESP programme at Yaba College of Technology in Nigeria.
The stories shared through the interviews, from building their first websites to repairing laptops and landing internships, reveal how they are rewriting the script about what it means to be young and female in a traditionally male-dominated industry, where opportunities for AGYW often come with unique barriers.
Starting With Curiosity and Shifting Mindset
Many of the young women began their GESP journey with limited exposure to technology. For some, like Ojotaiwo and Julios, tech was a curiosity, a space they didn’t quite know how to enter. Ojotaiwo, just 16 years old, had never built a website before. Through GESP, where she learned front-end website development, she went from having limited knowledge of tech to designing her own online portfolio. That first tangible product gave her a sense of pride and a spark for something bigger. In her own words:
Before joining GESP, I didn’t know how to build a website. One of my proudest moments was creating my portfolio website, which impressed my facilitator. GESP was key in helping me learn these skills.
Julios, also 16, came in with a desire to solve problems, particularly in healthcare. The training in mobile and web development unlocked the skills she needed to start imagining and building solutions to real-world issues. She aspires to develop an app that makes healthcare appointments and emergency contacts more accessible, demonstrating how tech can bridge communication gaps.
For others like Obafoshun, 21 years old, the journey into tech was less about code and more about breaking stereotypes. Coming from a background in the arts, she had always been interested in computers but didn’t know where to begin. GESP gave her not just the vocational skills in laptop assembly and phone repair but also the validation that she didn’t need to fit a mold to pursue a tech career. It helped her challenge the notion that only certain academic paths lead to tech career, empowering her that her background was not a barrier, but a unique strength.
From Learning to Leading
What stood out across the conversations was how GESP moved these young women from passive learning to active leading, often led to successful pathway to livelihood opportunities. The thoughts shared by the young women who participated in GESP are the testament that the programme isn’t just about technical skills but it integrates teamwork, leadership, public speaking, and entrepreneurship to empower them and build the confidence to lead.
Victoria, 21 years old, now interning at a tech company, credits her ability to juggle work and school to the skills she learned through GESP. She developed a clear sense of purpose, backed by communication and problem-solving strategies that help her navigate both academic and professional environments.
Ojuoko, who is already leading collaborative tech projects at age 17, discovered her entrepreneurial edge during the programme. She spoke confidently about her future, having already been approached to develop a cosmetics website. She also plans to take on more projects such as a donation platform and e-commerce ventures, once she finishes school. Her journey shows how the programme equips young women not only with technical skills, but also with the confidence to take initiative and lead.
Meanwhile, Funmilayo, 24 years old, took what she learned and went global where she applied for an ICT role abroad. Although the opportunity didn’t materialize, the experience itself represented a huge leap in ambition and belief in her capabilities. Today, she’s planning to open her own computer repair shop and is positioning herself as an ICT professional ready to take on the world.
Rewriting the Script on Gender and Tech
For all these young women, stepping into tech meant stepping outside of traditional and stereotypical roles. GESP tackled this head-on, not through lectures on empowerment, but by showing them what they could do and how to harness their full potential.
Obafoshun shared that “GESP broke traditional barriers by providing hands-on tech training for a girl with an art background. It empowered me to overcome societal expectations and pursue a tech career, reaffirming my belief that ‘I can do it.’”
Mentorship was a key ingredient. Seeing female mentors in tech roles created a mirror where the young women could see their future selves. For Joy, 16 years old, who previously studied baking, building a website advocating for girls’ rights was a powerful moment. It wasn’t just a change in skills, it was a change in identity. She began to see herself not just as a student or job seeker, but as someone who could build, influence, and lead.
The programme also offered a safe space to make mistakes, try again, and grow. Public speaking sessions helped participants like Julios and Ojuoko overcome shyness and take ownership of their ideas. Young women who once hesitated to speak up in groups now lead presentations and guide their peers.
A Launchpad, Not a Finish Line
One of the strongest messages that came through in every story was this: GESP is not the final destination but a launchpad. The skills learned, whether it’s CSS and GitHub or leadership and resilience, are opening doors to internships, side projects, entrepreneurship, and further education.
More importantly, the programme has helped each young woman see herself as capable of shaping her future, not waiting for permission and actively creating opportunities.
These young women are not just entering the tech world. They’re changing it, and as they continue to code, repair, speak, build, and lead, they’re proving that with the right support, young women can be a powerful force for innovation and equality.
*UNICEF does not endorse any brand, company, product or service.
