Nominations Open For Most Influential Women In Tech Africa 2026

The Most Influential Women In Tech Africa (MIWIT) is back. Every year, CIO Africa by dx5 goes looking for the women advancing technology in Africa. Some of them are well known to the community. Some, not so much. Many are the women who do their best work far from the spotlight. We want to find both.

MIWIT started as an East African showcase and is now a pan-African list. Last year’s 45 came from Rwanda, Uganda, Nigeria, Benin, Namibia, South Africa and beyond. Rwanda’s ICT Minister Paula Ingabire was on it for her work making the country an AI hub. So was Uganda’s ICT Permanent Secretary Dr Aminah Zawedde, and Ada Nduka Oyom, who built She Code Africa. The youngest was Dr Viviane Oke, a 23-year-old digital health founder from Benin. Ministers sat next to founders. CIOs sat next to community builders. It is this mix that makes not just our list, but also the continent’s technological edge, unique.

2026 has been a big year. AI has moved out of pilots and into daily work. Governments are writing the rules. Boards are asking what their technology spend actually delivers. Women have been part of all of it, even though they still make up only a small share of Africa’s tech workforce. This list is how we make sure this work comes alive.

Our Criteria

• A leader who shapes the growth and direction of her organisation, and whose decisions change where the business goes.
• A woman with a strong digital presence who uses her platform to connect with the African tech community and speaks up on the issues of the day.
• A woman who drives innovation that inspires the wider tech community, through her ideas and her actions.
• A role model who opens the way for the next generation of African women in technology.
• A woman who has moved Africa’s tech sector forward through digital transformation, emerging technology, policy or strategy.
• A woman who had a strong year between September 2025 and September 2026. She may have been promoted, won an award, launched a project that worked, or simply led well.

How To Nominate

Nominate a woman you admire, or nominate yourself. Tell us how she meets the 2026 criteria. Be specific and comprehensive. Tell us what she or you did and what changed because of it. Numbers, launches and links help far more than general praise.

Go here for the nomination form. The deadline is 12 October 2026.

We can’t wait to meet you all.