Maryam Lawan Gwadabe is the founder of Blue Sapphire Hub, a technological entrepreneurship capacity building and innovation hub. She is a passionate academic researcher, business development support mentor, graphics designer, front end developer and certified digital marketer. She has a keen interest in the opportunities presented by technology and aims to leverage its innovations to impact any businesses she encounters. Gwadabe encourages people across the dimensions of social strata, age and gender stereotyping to engage in information and communications technology.

Gwadabe has a bachelor's degree in software engineering from Coventry University and a master's degree in computer network management from Middlesex University. She is an alumna of Forbes Africa 30 under 30 (2020) and a recipient of Outstanding Woman in Tech by the United Nations Association of Nigeria's Women in Leadership Award (2022). Through her research work, Gwadabe is also a recipient of the Information and Communications Technology Track Best Paper at the Emerging Research Paradigms in Business and Social Sciences (ERPBSS) Conference in Dubai (2015). 

IVLP Impact Award Project: Girls in Tech Sisterhood

This project was designed as a four-month immersion bootcamp to empower 25 young girls between the ages 10 to 16 in Northern Nigeria, Kano State with technological, entrepreneurship and mentorship skills. Specifically, the project promoted digital inclusion and created a pipeline of young female innovators by equipping them with the skills needed to thrive in the digital era. Training courses focused on networking, coding, robotics, cybersecurity, and digital art. Participants  gained valuable technical, teamwork, and problem-solving skills. Through the guidance of mentors, participants gained exposure to tech jobs, met women in tech careers and joined a supportive sisterhood of girls in tech. The participants worked through project-oriented approaches where they used the skills learned in the bootcamp to build impact-driven technological solutions to community challenges. Participants also had the opportunity to pitch the projects they built during training to professional technology companies and Tech Hubs.

"If girls in Northern Nigeria are given this opportunity, they will be world leaders of technology companies." - Project Participant

IVLP Exchange Experience 

Maryam participated in the IVLP Project Science and Technology Entrepreneurship, organized by the U.S. Department of State and the American Councils for International Education in partnership with GlobalPittsburgh, Global Ties Idaho and Global Ties San Francisco.

U.S. Communities Visited Virtually

San Francisco, CA; Washington, DC; Boise, ID; Pittsburgh, PA

Country: Nigeria

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