The Women’s Technology Empowerment Centre (W.TEC) recently concluded the 2026 edition of the “She Creates Camp,” a premier STEM empowerment program aimed at bridging the gender gap in technology. With extensive programming delivered across the country, the camp focused on equipping young girls with critical future-ready skills. Detailed evaluation data from our Lagos, Ondo, and Kwara camps highlights exceptional nationwide growth in emerging technology comprehension, real-world application, and leadership development.
Lagos State Camp: Innovation and Real-World Solutions
The Lagos edition of the 2026 She Creates Camp catered to girls aged 9 to 17 years, yielding dramatic improvements in technical literacy and project building. By the end of the program, participants demonstrated a much deeper grasp of emerging tech and a greater confidence in using technology to solve community problems.
The pre- and post-evaluation findings reveal significant developmental leaps:
- Understanding of IoT: Comprehension of the Internet of Things saw the largest leap, climbing from a 32.6% pre-evaluation baseline to 90.7% post-evaluation—a massive 58.1 percentage point increase.
- Understanding of AI: Artificial Intelligence comprehension grew from 69.8% to 97.7%, marking a 27.9 percentage point increase.
- Technology-Based Problem-Solving: The ability to apply tech to practical issues rose from 51.2% to 81.4%, a 30.2 percentage point increase.
The camp successfully moved participants from general STEM interest to focused career direction. While 86% were already interested in STEM careers before the camp, 93% reported having a clear career plan after the program. Beyond technical skills, the camp built vital interpersonal competencies: 98% reported improved leadership skills, 95% reported improved teamwork skills, and 93% said their problem-solving skills improved.
Operating under a “Learning by Building” framework, the campers actively developed functional projects, including an Emergency Distress App, a Key card Access lock, and various other practical AI and IoT solutions. A remarkable 93% of the girls stated their project addressed a real-world challenge, and 88% felt confident explaining how their project works.
The camp experience was highly rated, with 93% of participants satisfied or very satisfied, and 100% stating they would recommend the programme to other girls. The girls identified their most valuable takeaways as practical projects, AI & IoT knowledge, app development, teamwork & bonding, and mentorship & guidance. As one camper noted, “The emergency distress app is something that can really help people,” while another added, “Building the Key card access lock was my best part”.
Ondo State Camp: Translating Interest into Impact
Operating under the theme “From Interest to Impact,” the Ondo State camp targeted girls aged 11 to 17. The pre-evaluation data indicated that the participants arrived with a strong baseline of enthusiasm: 100% of the girls were interested in STEM careers, 100% had heard of AI, and 91.7% understood basic programming concepts.
The camp successfully shifted this foundational awareness into actionable skills:
- Career Planning: Participants with a clear career direction increased from 75% to 100%, reflecting a 25.0 increase.
- IoT Understanding: Comprehension of IoT devices grew from 91.7% to a perfect 100% post-camp, an 8.3 increase.
- Problem-Solving: The belief that technology solves real-life problems surged from 50% to 100%, marking a massive 50-point increase.
By the end of the program, the Ondo camp hit what W.TEC described as “The 100% Wall”—every single participant (100%) reported improved AI understanding, enhanced problem-solving abilities, increased STEM career interest, the capability to build simple IoT solutions, and improved leadership skills. Furthermore, 91.7% stated that the mentorship sessions helped them plan for their future, and the camp achieved an 83.3% overall satisfaction rate, with 100% of participants willing to recommend the program.
Kwara State Camp: From Learning to Confidence
The Kwara State edition, themed “From Learning to Confidence” for girls aged 11 to 17, showcased exceptional growth curves.
Technological skill growth was substantial across all key metrics:
- IoT (Internet of Things): Understanding skyrocketed from a pre-evaluation baseline of 26.7% to 93.3% post-camp—a 66.6 increase representing the biggest observed change in the cohort.
- AI (Artificial Intelligence): Comprehension grew from 46.7% to 86.7%, a 40.0 increase.
- Problem-Solving: The ability to apply technology to real-life problems mirrored AI growth, jumping from 46.7% to 86.7% (+40.0 increase).
Beyond the technical curricula, the Kwara camp fostered critical soft skills and future planning:
- 93.3% of participants reported having a career plan.
- 93.3% stated that the mentorship components helped them plan their future.
- 80% reported improved leadership confidence.
Participant satisfaction was exceptionally high, with 93.3% satisfied or very satisfied, and 100% willing to recommend the camp. When it came to project application, 66.7% of the girls built projects that addressed a real-world challenge, though 40.0% felt confident explaining how their project worked, highlighting an area for future curriculum enhancement.
Strategic Takeaways and Future Directions
The 2026 evaluations highlight strong, measurable gains in emerging technologies across the nation, alongside reinforced aspirations through career planning and mentorship. Moving forward, future camps will dedicate more practical time to deepen learning and strengthen project presentation skills. As outlined in the Ondo evaluation, W.TEC will continue to refine its project-based learning framework:
BUILD -> TEST -> EXPLAIN -> PRESENT
By prioritizing this flow, participants will be better equipped to connect their technological solutions to real-world challenges and confidently articulate their innovations. These figures confirm that the She Creates Camp remains a vital and transformative catalyst for empowering the next generation of female leaders in technology.