by Danyelle Kawamura, WE Empower Intern

“We believe technology does not have any gender and we have proved that women can do the coding and technical things.” – Achia Nila, founder of Women in Digital

Achia Nila, founder of Women in Digital, Bangladesh

2021 WE Empower Finalist, Asia-Pacific

Over 15 years ago, Achia Nila discovered there were little to no women in the tech field. Since then, she has successfully brought women and girls into the tech field and continues to promote education and empowerment through technology. Her aim is to create digital platforms that “support, promote, and empower women in areas of IT.” In alignment with UN SDG 4: Quality Education, she has trained and empowered over 10,000 women and girls in Bangladesh and continues to work towards promoting women’s digital literacy.

With a background in Computer Engineering, Achia aims to continuously bring women into the tech field and replicate the Women in Digital (WID) business model on a global scale. They work to develop solutions for local governments and international clientele while training female coders in the process. The diligent work done by WID has paid off as Achia and WID won the 2020 International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Innovation Challenge.

Mashtor and Digital Agency

Women in Digital (WID) involves industry-leading technologists, instructors and leaders in the development and curation of a physical and online curriculum.Through Mashtor, the WID community has compiled a multitude of zero cost online programs such as: fundamentals of web development, intermediate HTML and CSS techniques, web accessibility, and introduction to PHP/MySQL and programming fundamentals.

“Learn technology, earn from it, and prove to the world that women can tech.” – Achia Nila, founder of Women in Digital

Achia on the UN Sustainable Development Goals

UN SDG 4: Quality Education

Women in Digital works solely with women and girl’s in tech education. Along with female professionals in coding and IT, WID trains women and girls free of cost with their own materials and curriculum developed just for women in tech. This was successfully implemented and by 2020 has reached all 64 districts in Bangladesh. Once graduated from the WID tech school, students are provided with a job and given connections within the job market to further the development of their skills.

UN SDG 5: Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment

Women in Digital has created a community just for women in the tech world with a fully female-led company. Achia has proudly mentioned that she is working towards digital-economic inclusion and the empowerment of women. In Bangladesh, WID is the only women-led and female-focused organization within the IT sector and is successfully run by all female coders.

“There is a gap in the tech industry and we are trying to minimize the gap.” – Achia Nila, founder of Women in Digital

UN SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

Achia Nila founded Lumina Dev in collaboration with Women in Digital as yet another female-led agency providing physical and online institutes for IT development. Lumina Dev provides training in Bangladesh and online while empowering women through literacy and advanced technological skills. This tech school provides women with the proper education and job opportunities to survive in the digital age. This learning opportunity gives women new skill sets that are valued by tech employers and aids in them becoming experts in their field.