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Founder of Women in Technology in Nigeria (WITIN), Martha Omoekpen Alade, who is using technology to drive socio-economic empowerment in Nigeria by helping 20,000 women and girls out of poverty by 2022, has won the Community Impact award at the 2019 Technology Playmaker Awards.
Technology Playmaker Awards celebrates the achievements of women in the tech industry and winners of the second edition of the awards came from Nigeria, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Mexico, and the United States. This year, the awards were open to global nominations, building on a European focus last year, and drew hundreds of entries from over 60 countries.
Announcing the recipients of the 2019 Technology Playmaker Awards, in London, Gillian Tans, CEO, Booking.com, one of the world’s largest e-commerce companies, said: “We received an exceptionally high calibre of nominations from every corner of the world and, it is my pleasure to congratulate all of our inspiring finalists and winners.
“Their stories highlight the breadth and scale of achievements that women at all stages of their tech careers are making every day. “We recognise the need to shine a light on role models in the tech industry, and set out to create a forum that brings together leading female technologists from different backgrounds to exchange ideas and perspectives and build connections with the aim to inspire future generations and achieve equal gender representation for women in tech.”
Congratulating Alade, the British High Commissioner, Catriona Laing, said: “I am so delighted that Martha has been recognised with this prestigious award for her contribution in driving socio-economic empowerment in Nigeria, especially for women and girls. We hope that Martha’s achievement can act as a trailblazer inspiring more women and girls from all walks of life from education to politics to business, to aspire to the top.”
Omobola Johnson, Nigeria’s pioneer minister of communications and technology, also congratulated Alade.
The former minister on her twitter handle, wrote: ‘‘Well deserved recognition @aladematha. Thank you again for your work with the CommTech Ministry to establish Digital Girls Clubs across the country. Good luck!’’
Now in its second year, the awards recognise women across the global technology scene that are trailblasing new paths, creating innovative products and experiences, positively impacting communities and inspiring future generations. Eight prizes were awarded including seven individual category awards, one employer award, and the overall 2019 Technology Playmaker of the Year award.
The seven categories recognised the tech contributions of women in areas ranging from positive business impact, innovative use of digital tools and emerging technologies, community impact and sustainable practices, rising tech talent and an organisation that is demonstrating a commitment to achieving gender diversity in IT and technology.
The judging panel was chaired by Gillian Tans and leaders from global tech companies, academia and start-ups including Skyscanner, WeTransfer, Amazon Web Services, Spelman College, Delft University of Technology, NeuralBay, Wormhole and All Turtles, as well as representatives from the European Parliament and the Financial Times.
