Saturday, October 11, marked the International Day of the Girl Child. A day dedicated to amplifying the voices of girls and celebrating their limitless potential.

While the global spotlight often focuses on the challenges facing the girl child, let’s take a moment to see the women who have turned those challenges into inspiration: a celebration of women who were once those girls, but now leading innovation, breaking barriers, and redefining what’s possible in Nigeria’s tech industry.

From fintech disruptors to satellite engineers, these women are proof that when girls are encouraged to dream big and given equal access to opportunities, they join the conversation and change it.

Here are 8 Nigerian women whose work continues to inspire a new generation of girls to code, create, and conquer.

1. Funke Opeke

Funke Opeke, Founder and CEO of MainOne, is the powerhouse behind one of West Africa’s largest digital infrastructure companies. After returning from the U.S., where she worked with Verizon, she founded MainOne to bridge Nigeria’s poor connectivity gap. Her company built a 7,000 km submarine cable system linking Nigeria to Europe, improving internet speed and reliability across the region.

2. Odunayo Eweniyi

As the Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of PiggyVest, Nigeria’s leading savings and investment platform, Odunayo Eweniyi is empowering millions of Nigerians to take control of their finances. A first-class graduate of Computer Engineering, she has become one of the loudest voices for women in tech and financial inclusion.

Beyond fintech, Odunayo co-founded Feminist Coalition, a group championing women’s rights and economic empowerment. Her success story shows that technology can be both profitable and purposeful.

3. Ire Aderinokun

Nigeria’s first female Google Developer Expert in Web Technologies, Ire Aderinokun, is a co-founder and VP of Engineering at Helicarrier, a blockchain infrastructure company. She’s also the creator of Bits of Code, a platform that simplifies coding for beginners. A self-taught front-end developer, Ire has become a mentor to many young women aspiring to enter software engineering, proving that with curiosity and consistency, anyone can build something extraordinary.

4. Fara Ashiru Jituboh – Building Bridges in Fintech

As the Co-founder and CEO/CTO of Okra, Fara Ashiru Jituboh is one of the brilliant minds powering open banking in Africa. Okra enables fintech companies to access financial data and build better financial products securely. With her technical expertise and bold vision, Fara is making financial systems more transparent and connected. Her work is reshaping how Africans interact with money.

5. Abimbola Alale

When people talk about Nigeria’s digital future, few realize it extends beyond Earth’s surface, thanks to Abimbola Alale, the Managing Director and CEO of NigComSat (Nigerian Communications Satellite Ltd).

The first Nigerian woman to lead a satellite company, Abimbola, has been at the forefront of improving broadband access, space communication, and national security systems. Her leadership is proof that women can thrive even in the most complex tech fields.

6. Adaora Nwodo

A Senior Software Engineer and founder of NexaScale, Adaora Nwodo, is one of the new-generation tech voices inspiring young Africans to embrace cloud computing and software development.

A graduate of Computer Science from the University of Lagos, Adaora has built a career in cloud infrastructure while writing books and speaking globally about tech inclusion. Her content demystifies complex tech concepts, empowering girls to build digital skills with confidence.

7. Tope Omotolani

Tope Omotolani is the Co-founder and CEO of CrowdyVest and one of the minds behind Farmcrowdy, Nigeria’s pioneering agritech startup. Through these platforms, she has connected thousands of smallholder farmers to investors, boosting food production and financial inclusion. Tope’s work sits at the intersection of agriculture and technology, showing that innovation can drive both profit and social progress.

8. Chioma Agwuegbo

Chioma Agwuegbo, founder of TechHerNG, has spent years advocating for women’s digital literacy and access to technology. Her platform trains and mentors women in digital communication, helping them use tech to advance their businesses and voices. Chioma’s influence goes beyond coding; she’s shaping how women use digital tools to tell stories, mobilize communities, and create change.

These women are excelling individually and transforming ecosystems, building opportunities, and proving that gender is no limitation to innovation.

As the world celebrates the International Day of the Girl Child, their stories serve as living proof that when girls are supported, educated, and included in technology, they lead. (The Guardian)