Oreoluwa Somolu Lesi
Oreoluwa Somolu Lesi is one excellent Nigerian rooted in women and girl-child literacy in the technology scene.
Oreoluwa Somolu Lesi is a social entrepreneur, UK-trained economist and global expert in information technology, who has received many national and international accolades for her significant efforts in the advancement of gender equality, women’s empowerment and digital activism. She is the founder and Executive Director of Women’s Technology Empowerment Centre (W.TEC), a non-profit organization founded in 2008 to build a more inclusive technology ecosystem with the next generation of women tech creators, entrepreneurs and leaders.
A STEM and Gender Specialist, Oreoluwa Lesi is one of the leading voices and practitioners in the field of Women’s Technological Empowerment in Africa, with over 19 years of professional experience. With W.TECH, she has made remarkable differences in the lives of girls and women, especially in accessing information technology as a career goal or skill acquisition.
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Under her shrewd leadership, W.TECH has over the years made a significant mark in the non-profit sector and that has earned it industry-wide admiration and recognition across the global non-profit sector, mainly from its firm ability to provide information technology literacy for women and girls. This involves organizing technology camps, afterschool technology clubs for girls as well as research and public discourse to examine the gender technology gap. Since its inception, the organization has encouraged over 31,000 girls and women across Nigeria, to pursue STEM careers and has supported women in using technology to confidently increase their economic power.
Having spent her early years with an electrical engineer father, developing a software application used to run her family’s bookshop business, it is no wonder that Oreoluwa Lesi has made a name in the technology industry. In her line, she has shown that hard work, dedication and consistency are the key factors to achieving a goal and attaining success.
Oreoluwa has an impressive educational background in Economics from the University of Essex. While at the university, she started a business of typing essays and assignments for students which lit the first spark about how women could use technology to create economic opportunities for themselves and others. She further earned a master’s degree in Information Systems from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and obtained a certificate in Applied Sciences at Harvard University Extension School.
Oreoluwa Lesi is a passionate and bold entrepreneur with a number of awards under her belt; She was a recipient of the 2020 OkayAfrica 100 Women Campaign, named among one of the 5 Women who Defined the Nigerian Tech Space in 2019 by Technext.ng and was as well named Her Network Woman of the Year 2018 in Technology. Oreoluwa received the 2016 #YTech100 Special Recognition Award, 2014 Leadership Award from La Roche Leadership Foundation and the 2009 Anita Borg Change Agent Award amongst others.
Oreoluwa Lesi has received various fellowships including the 2020 ICANN 69 Fellow, 2019 ICANN 66 Fellow, 2014 Vital Voices Lead Fellow and the 2013 Ashoka Fellow. Her work has been featured widely across media such as BBC Africa, TIME Magazine, Channels TV, NTA and EbonyLife TV.
Oreoluwa Lesi is globally recognized for her excellent track record of leading impacts and social entrepreneurial success stories.
She is truly deserving.