In Nigeria, the tech industry, with its promise of attractive salaries and global opportunities, offers young people a career path to financial freedom and a more equitable future.
A plethora of virtual and physical learning spaces have emerged across the country, providing a range of training options, from free to paid, in coding and non-coding tech skills. Yet, pervasive societal biases against marginalised groups, particularly gender and sexuality, continue to seep into even this seemingly progressive industry.
While women-only training initiatives have gained traction, the unique challenges faced by queer people, who often encounter hostility in diverse learning environments, remain largely unaddressed.
In 2021, the Center for Health Education and Vulnerable Support (CHEVS), a human rights organisation focused on queer people, launched Tech4Pride, a fellowship that exclusively trains queer people in in-demand tech skills such as data analysis, software development, and marketing. Tech4Pride is one of the few initiatives in the country teaching queer individuals coding and non-coding skills.
The cohort-based fellowship has trained over 100 people and placed 76% of them in jobs, according to Kenny Owen who heads the cohort-based fellowship. It is also working to include mentorship opportunities to connect tech talent to established queer founders or tech executives for career development.
During their training, Tech4Pride fellowship members develop tech projects presented at graduation. These projects often address unique challenges faced by the queer community that are typically overlooked due to their specific nature. They include apps for HIV aftercare, menstrual cycle tracking, security alerts, police interaction aids, and identity verification to combat queerbaiting on social media platforms.
“We want to replicate the same support that women-focused communities in tech provide for their members,” Anita Graham, a CHEVS co-director, told TechCabal.
The immediate goal of increasing tech skills among queer people is economic empowerment unrestricted by location.
“Queer people seek financial freedom [especially] through transferable skills unrestricted by location,” Graham said.
Queer people often migrate to countries with more favourable LGBTQIA+ laws to escape persecution and discrimination in countries like Nigeria where queerness is criminalised. With globally in-demand tech skills, queer people can increase their potential for migration.
Another goal is to increase inclusivity within the tech ecosystem. Having more queer people as tech operators and founders provides a unique perspective, allowing for the development of solutions that address the specific challenges faced by the LGBTQIA+ community.
While there is extensive research on the experiences of women in education and tech, little to no research exists on the experiences of queer people in these fields in Africa. Graham explains that the need for the queer-focused fellowship was identified through the lived experiences of queer Nigerians.
Conversations with queer communities, key informants, and focused groups show that there is a low completion rate of physical and virtual tech skills training among queer people, she said.
One highly placed manager at HNG—a popular tech skill acquisition programme—who declined to be named to speak freely, told TechCabal that though he thinks “what you learn and who you are necessarily correlated,…there could be some discrimination in offline training.”
Chiamaka Adewu*, who recently founded a women-focused tech skill empowerment community, said marginalised groups often feel uncomfortable in diverse learning spaces, which can negatively impact their performance.
Similar dynamics exist among women and even religious groups who have created their communities for learning and support.
“Communities are incredibly powerful, and it can’t be overstated how much safer people feel among those who share their experiences and beliefs,” she said.
Graham noted that in diverse tech skills acquisition programmes that require physical attendance, the unconventional fashion choices of queer people often lead to assumptions about their sexual orientation, shaping social interactions. Individuals who express themselves in ways that challenge traditional gender norms—including dressing in masculine clothing— face heightened risks of physical violence.
Homophobic remarks, slurs, or physical harassment can create a climate of fear and intimidation, making it difficult for queer people to focus on their studies.
One male queer person who identifies as a femme told TechCabal that they felt a pressure to be unnecessarily amusing or social to distract people from picking on their feminine traits.
While virtual learning spaces can offer physical distance, diverse online training spaces are not immune to discrimination. Online activities required by virtual classes can expose students’ digital footprints, making them vulnerable to harassment.
As Graham explained, “Sometimes, fellow students find their digital footprint on social media where they are more expressive of their sexuality, and that has often led to outing, attacks, doxxing, and cyberstalking.”
While initiatives like Tech4Pride play a crucial role in promoting inclusivity, their sustainability often hinges on the availability of external funding. This reliance on grants and donations can be risky. Throughout 2024, Tech4Pride paused enrollment to focus on fundraising. The initiative did not run any cohort training this year—the third cohort has been deferred to 2025. A CHEV’s spokesperson said the company raised money this year but declined to indicate how much.
A commercial model would be more sustainable. Edtech startups and skills acquisition initiatives by for-profit businesses should consider the unique needs of queer trainees.
However, one tech boot camp founder, who asked to remain anonymous to speak freely, explained that the tech ecosystem, while more open-minded than many other sectors, hardly prioritises the specific needs of LGBTQIA+ groups.
“There is just too much of a spectrum in Nigeria – we have very conservative people to very liberal people. If the boot camp is too liberal-friendly, you lose the conservative people,” they said.
*Names have been changed to protect the person’s identity.
