By Kehinde Balogun
The tech sector in Nigeria has long been gatekept, especially for women. However, after an inquisition and a piqued interest in Cloud Computing and other diverse areas of tech, Ekwutosi became one of the foremost EdTalk experts in Nigeria, democratizing the industry through her Digital Witch platforms and community. Digital Witch has opened up the tech industry to thousands, making it more inclusive and accessible.
Ekwutosi’s journey into tech is both inspiring and relatable. From a childhood filled with ups and downs to discovering her passion for technology, her story highlights how curiosity and determination can lead to great achievements. Today, she has trained over 40,000 students—many of them women—and continues to break down barriers in the tech world. In this interview, she shares her story, the challenges she has faced, and her plans to expand tech education across Nigeria.
In this exclusive interview, she tells her story. The interview has been edited for clarity purposes.
While I was reading up on your story, I found it so inspirational, please tell us more about your childhood and how it shaped your passion for technology.
My name is Ekwutosi, and my childhood was a mix of both joyful and challenging experiences. On the one hand, I was deeply loved and cherished by my father; on the other, I faced hardship when I was sent to live with a stranger as a maid—a period that left me with traumatic memories. However, returning to my father’s house for secondary school brought a renewed sense of purpose, and life gradually started making sense again.
Academically, I was a bright student and often found myself in leadership positions. During my time at university, I had the privilege of being mentored by someone I deeply respect. Whenever I shared my dreams with him, he would introduce me to ways technology could help bring them to life. That was my first real encounter with the world of tech, and each conversation with him opened my mind to its endless possibilities.
Please, tell us more about your educational background, from primary school till date?
I attended St. Catherine’s Comprehensive College, Nsukka, Enugu State, an all-girls Catholic secondary school that played a significant role in shaping my sense of purpose. For my university education, I studied English and Literature with a major in English Education at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
What prompted your interest in Tech?
This is an interesting question. After completing my NYSC, I relocated from Enugu to Lagos and began working at a real estate company as a Sales Representative and Business Developer. One day at the office, while watching a reality TV show on YouTube, an autoplay video from a Cloud Computing training channel started playing. Initially, I was about to skip it, but the term Cloud Computing piqued my curiosity, so I decided to listen. That single decision sparked my interest, and from that day forward, I subscribed to the channel and made it a habit to watch at least one or two videos daily. And just like that, my tech journey began.
For someone who has been in tech for many years, kindly highlight the biggest milestones in your digital journey so far:
My biggest milestone has been successfully training over 40,000 students in less than four years, witnessing countless success stories from those who have gone through our programs. Contributing to reducing unemployment in Nigeria through education and skill development is something I take great pride in.
Being in Tech comes with its challenges, it can even get worse when you are building a platform like Digital Witch, what have been the challenges so far?
One of our biggest challenges is ensuring that students have basic computer programming knowledge before starting our program. Often, we find that many incoming students lack these fundamental skills, which can make the training process more challenging and sometimes frustrating for both learners and instructors. However, we address this by starting from the very basics, ensuring that everyone is carried along and no one is left behind in their learning journey.
I read up on Digital Witch and I marvel at the brilliant move it has made. What was the inspiration behind the foundation?
Initially, my inspiration was to train and empower stay-at-home moms and women who lacked skills and employment opportunities. However, as we started seeing successful results, interest in our program grew beyond just women—everyone wanted to learn and explore remote work opportunities. People need jobs, and our training provides them with the skills to secure them. While our impact has expanded, my initial drive came from seeing women succeed and transform their lives through learning.
Tech is getting the needed attention yet the number of women is still minimal, what do you think is the place of Women in Tech advancement in Nigeria?
Honestly, the number of women in tech is no longer minimal. In our community alone, women outnumber men, and many of them have achieved remarkable success. It’s incredibly rewarding to see our efforts making a real impact, and I’m proud to be part of the pioneers driving this change.
What are the barriers against women and how do you think they can surmount it?
One major challenge is imposter syndrome. Many women struggle with self-doubt, questioning their ability to learn and succeed in tech. For married women, the challenge is often compounded by a lack of support from their partners, some of whom discourage them from pursuing opportunities that could contribute to their growth. As a result, many women join our programs in secret, determined to prove to themselves—and sometimes to their partners—that they are capable.
To overcome this, continuous awareness and education are essential. Women need to be reminded that they can achieve anything they set their minds to, and more importantly, they can succeed. At the same time, men need to be more supportive, as encouragement from a partner can significantly boost a woman’s confidence and motivation.
With what you have achieved so far, what next for you and the digital witch?
Next for me and Digital Witch is expanding our impact even further. While we’ve successfully trained over 40,000 students in under four years, we recognize that there are still many people—especially in rural areas—who lack access to quality tech education and mentorship. Our goal is to bridge this gap by extending our training programs to underserved communities, empowering more individuals with the skills they need to succeed in the digital world.
Additionally, we are actively negotiating with agencies and organizations that can help place our students in jobs, internships, and other career opportunities. We understand that skill acquisition is just one part of the equation—real success comes when those skills translate into tangible career growth. By forming these strategic partnerships, we aim to create more pathways for our students to secure meaningful employment and thrive in their chosen fields.
Ultimately, our mission remains the same: to equip people with the tools, knowledge, and confidence to break barriers, achieve success, and transform their lives through technology. And this is just the beginning!
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