AI Women Rising is Closing the Gender Gap in Africa’s AI Workforce, One Girl at a Time

The Boko Haram insurgency in northern Nigeria has left deep scars on families, on communities, and especially on young women. Thousands were forced to flee, carrying little more than memories of home. In new and unfamiliar cities, safety was uncertain, resources were scarce, and education became a distant dream.

For many of these girls, the dream of school fades quickly, replaced by the daily struggle to survive. That is the reality AI Women Rising set out to change.

The initiative was founded in 2025 by Blessing Ikpia, whose story embodies the resilience she now seeks to pass on. Growing up in a community where women were confined to menial roles and discouraged from leadership, Blessing knew what it meant to be underestimated. While still in school, she hustled to make ends meet selling hypo on the streets and biscuits in school hostels and classrooms These were not just ways to get by; they were lessons in grit.

“I saw too many girls told they couldn’t lead or aspire beyond menial jobs,” Blessing recalls. “I wanted to prove that with the right tools, women can shape the future not just survive it.” That conviction became AI Women Rising, an independent initiative designed to give young women practical skills in artificial intelligence and the confidence to use them.

The debut came in January 2025 at an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in Benin City. One hundred girls, most of whom had lost years of schooling to conflict, gathered for a program unlike anything they had seen before. They were introduced to AI: not as a buzzword, but as a tool they could hold in their hands, apps that could help with homework, digital tools to support small businesses, healthcare applications that could predict illness.

For Mary, a 17-year-old participant, the experience was transformative. “I never thought I could be a nurse,” she admitted softly. “But after the training, I saw how AI can be used in nursing to predict diseases. Now I believe I can pursue that path and even do it better with technology.” Mary’s words reflect more than inspiration; they capture what access can do. Exposure to knowledge did not just give her new skills, it rewrote what she believed was possible.

Encouraged by the success of its debut, AI Women Rising partnered with Elite Global Intelligence Technologies and the Edo State Ministry of Education for a larger initiative to empower 1,000 secondary school girls received training on AI fundamentals and responsible technology use . On Thursday, September 18, 2025, the team including the CEO of Elite Global, Mr. Vwakpor Efuetanu visited Benin Technical College.

For Mitchelle, one of those students, the impact was immediate. “I had heard about AI, but it felt vague and out of reach,” she explained. “During the training, I learned how to prompt AI properly. It gave me explanations that finally made physics click. For the first time, I feel like I can keep up.” Her relief was visible. For a girl who had long struggled with science, AI was not just technology, it was a lifeline back to confidence.

Unlike many initiatives that talk about technology in abstract terms, AI Women Rising focuses on practical, relatable learning. Each workshop combines AI fundamentals, everyday applications, responsible use, and hands-on projects. This approach makes AI tangible. It shows that technology is not something distant or reserved for elite labs, it can be part of everyday survival and future success.

Globally, only 22% of AI professionals are women, according to UNESCO. In Africa, women hold fewer than 30% of tech jobs, despite being central to the continent’s economy. This gap is not just about numbers. It risks excluding half the population from industries that will define the future of work. Without intervention, girls in Nigeria could be locked out of opportunities before they even begin.

That is why partnerships matter. Elite Global Intelligence Technologies, AI Women Rising’s key partner, has already trained 27,000 people globally, 40% of them women and 80% from Africa. Many have gone on to launch businesses, develop education tools, or apply AI in healthcare. By linking with this network, Nigerian participants are not just students, they are part of a growing African movement of innovators.

Numbers tell part of the story but the true weight of AI Women Rising is carried in voices like Mary’s and Mitchelle’s. A displaced girl who once believed nursing was impossible now sees herself diagnosing with AI. A student who dreaded physics now walks into class with confidence, armed with digital tools that speak her language. These are not small shifts, they are transformations of identity, from bystanders to participants in the future of technology.

AI Women Rising is only at the beginning. The vision is to expand beyond Edo State to more schools, IDP camps, and underserved communities across Nigeria. Plans include establishing digital learning hubs in conflict-affected areas, offering online modules for continuous learning, pairing graduates with mentors in health, education, and business, and supporting young women who want to launch AI-powered ventures in their communities.

Blessing sums it up best: “When girls see someone like Mary using AI in nursing, or Mitchelle solving physics with it, they realize it’s not abstract. It’s theirs to use. That’s the real shift.”

For Mary, Mitchelle, and more than 1,000 others, AI Women Rising is not just about technology. It is about rewriting what they thought possible and proving that in the hands of young women, AI can be a force of freedom, dignity, and leadership.