Ilebani Titilayo Olamide
With societal bias and systemic barriers still looming large, Moat Academy is equipping young women like Rukayat to rewrite their narratives—one line of code at a time.
In a city where glass towers shadow streets lined with informal stalls and possibilities often depend on privilege, a quiet tech revolution is giving young women a new script, one that begins not with begging for jobs, but with building the future.
Abiola ilupeju (photo credit: Ilebani titilayo)
In 2016, Abiola Ilupeju, the Principal Consultant at Moat Academy in Lagos, came across an image that shook her to the core: a young woman standing on the Lekki-Epe Expressway, holding a placard pleading for a job. The woman was a Computer Science graduate. Ilupeju, herself a graduate of the same field, was haunted by the injustice.
“In our field, once you have the right skills, you shouldn’t have to beg for opportunities, rather opportunities should find you,” Ilupeju recalls.
What she didn’t know then was that this single image would ignite a movement and that the woman in the photograph, Lilian, would one day walk into her academy, unknowingly answering the call she had helped inspire.
Coding Against the Odds
Lilian’s story isn’t unique in its struggle, but it is in its outcome. After being selected as one of just 10 women from a pool of over 800 applicants for a special training program supported by the U.S. Consulate, Lilian completed the course at Moat Academy and landed her dream job in cybersecurity just two weeks later. Today, she thrives at Deloitte.
“She was the girl in the photo,” Ilupeju says, still amazed. “Out of 800 applicants, she walked into our doors, unaware that we had designed the program for people like her.” For Moat Academy, this wasn’t just coincidence. It was destiny made manifest through purpose and preparation.
While the academy welcomes all genders, it places strong emphasis on recruiting and supporting girls in tech recognising that inclusive innovation requires diverse perspectives. “Tech doesn’t belong to men or women. It belongs to thinkers, solvers, and dreamers,” Ilupeju says. “We’re making sure girls know that they belong here.”
Breaking Through Bias
But that belonging doesn’t come easy. “The biggest challenge girls face is societal stereotype,” says Ilupeju. “Many grow up believing tech is ‘too hard’ or ‘not for girls’. That mindset kills confidence before they even start.”
Moat Academy counters this with role models like its female faculty and history lessons on Ada Lovelace, the world’s first programmer. Yet, even within the walls of opportunity, barriers persist. Domestic expectations often burden young women disproportionately. “We’ve had girls miss assignments because they had to do house chores or attend to beauty norms like spending hours at salons,” Ilupeju explains. “Technical fields need focus. These distractions slow down progress.”
Still, through mentorship and structured support, many push through.
Power and Purpose: One Student’s Journey
Sodiq Rukayat Gbemishola, 25, is one of them.
“I’m passionate about problem-solving. Coding made me feel powerful—like saying ‘let there be light’, and there’s light,” she beams. To enroll in Moat Academy’s full-stack software development program, Rukayat made sacrifices. She resigned from her job, borrowed a laptop, and studied in the dark when electricity failed. But the struggle wasn’t enough to dim her purpose.
Sodiq Rukayat(Photo Credit: titilayo ilebani)
“I stopped making excuses. I surrounded myself with inspiration and purpose.” Today, she’s building a platform for Nigerian corps members, offering NYSC information, daily camp schedules, PPA listings, and a skill and savings tracker. It’s a tech solution born not just from code, but from lived experience.
“This program changed everything. I now see myself as a problem solver and even a job creator.”
Her message to girls in underserved communities is clear: “Tech isn’t just for those who start early. It’s for those who are willing to start at all.”
More Than a Skillset—A Future
Moat Academy’s model isn’t simply about teaching girls to code; it’s about reshaping futures and redefining power. “We’ve seen girls from underserved communities rise from uncertainty to build real-world solutions. Tech doesn’t care about your gender it only responds to your skill and innovation,” says Ilupeju.
But to truly unlock this power for more girls, societal and family systems must shift. “We need communities to value girls’ tech education. We need families to support them not just at enrollment, but every night they sit down to study.”
The Quiet Revolution Continues
In a world still tilted against them, girls like Lilian and Rukayat are not waiting for equity, they’re coding it, one keystroke at a time.
Their stories are not about charity or pity. They’re about power: of vision, of skill, and of a community determined to ensure that no girl has to carry a placard to be seen.
#Titilayo Ilebami, a journalist and fellow of Africa Foundation for Media Professionals’ Women In journalism/gender-based reporting media fellowship 2025 sent this in from Lagos
