The inaugural Tech Women Festival 2025 celebrated 25 outstanding women and girls for their remarkable contributions to Kenya’s digital industry. Held at the University of Nairobi, the awards ceremony recognized trailblazing women shaping the tech landscape. Organized by Teki, the annual festival and awards bring together digital practitioners, innovators, and industry leaders to celebrate achievements, address policy gaps, and foster connections within the tech ecosystem.
Mr. Martin Muli, Teki CEO and the festival’s director, said: “The Tech Women Festival 2025 Awards were created to recognized digital heroines who have mentored young girls and influenced the direction that the tech industry has taken. It was fantastic to host so many women and girls doing exemplary things in the digital space to positively transform lives.”
The climax of the day-long festival was the pairing of the winners with the top 25 girls with innovative business ideas and projects for mentorship through a programme dubbed Spark. Muli disclosed the winners were selected by an independent panel of judges who among other criteria focused on their mentorship initiatives.
Teki aims to impact 10,000 girls from universities and organized youth groups across all counties by equipping them with skills and knowledge to identify the right career and establish tech startups.
The University of Nairobi Acting Vice Chancellor Prof. Margaret Hutchinson called on public and corporate organizations to lead in fostering an environment where women have equal opportunities, so that their voices are heard, and contributions valued.
Prof. Hutchinson said: “At the university, we remain committed to empowering women in all fields, especially in technology, by providing access to education, mentorship, and networks that can help them realize their full potential. The University has a pillar of digitalization that is currently one of the main pillars that we are pursuing in all our processes”. Her speech was read by Esther Nekesa.
Safaricom’s Donna Rege, who was among the top 25 women honoured, stressed the need to create more platforms to empower women and girls so that they are able to challenge gender bias in the tech industry. “As women, we also need to invest in themselves, so as to accelerate initiatives that are aimed at empowering us to exploit opportunities in the tech industry,” she said.
Kenya has made many strides in bridging the gender gap in various sectors. The digital marketplace, however, remains a key area where disparities still exist despite significant growth in Internet penetration and usage.
According to UNESCO, the UN agency that promotes international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture, there is a significant gender disparity in the tech sector in Kenya, with women holding less than 30% of digital technology positions meaning the majority of tech jobs are held by men.
The gap is attributed to factors like limited access to education and training in Information Communications and Technology (ICT) fields for girls, leading to underrepresentation in tech careers throughout their lives.
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