For many women and girls in Northern Nigeria, the barriers to entering the technology industry are not simply a lack of interest or ability. Language, limited access to devices, economic constraints and the absence of culturally comfortable learning spaces can all stand between capable young women and the digital opportunities available elsewhere.
Her Tech Hub was created to address those barriers by bringing technology and artificial intelligence training closer to the communities it serves – and, crucially, making complex concepts more accessible through Hausa.
In an exclusive interview with AIBase reporter Ahmad Ibrahim, Safiyya Daba explained how Her Tech Hub is working to make technology education more inclusive for women and girls, while building a model that combines local language, practical access to devices, mentorship and real-world digital skills.
“We started Her Tech Hub because so many capable women in our communities were locked out of tech simply because the training was always in English, they didn’t have laptops to practise with, or they lacked a safe, comfortable space to learn,” Daba said.
The challenge, she argued, is also one of relevance.
“When tech concepts are taught using examples from abroad, people feel tech isn’t meant for them,” she said.
Her Tech Hub is attempting to change that by localising how technology and AI are taught.
“We are changing that by bringing tech and AI training straight home in Hausa and making sure women have the actual devices and support to build real skills.”
Unlocking untapped potential
Her Tech Hub’s focus on women and girls in Northern Nigeria is rooted in what Daba describes as significant but under-utilised potential.
“Women in Northern Nigeria have so much untapped potential, but they face cultural and economic hurdles that make joining conventional tech spaces difficult,” she said.
For Daba, providing practical digital skills in an environment that understands and respects local culture can create an impact that extends beyond the individual learner.
“When we give a Northern woman practical digital skills in an environment that respects her values and culture, she doesn’t just build a career – she directly improves the lives of her family and community.”
The approach reflects a broader argument increasingly emerging across Africa’s technology ecosystem: access to digital skills cannot be separated from the social, cultural and economic conditions in which people live.
From AI-assisted marketing to coding
For the women being trained through Her Tech Hub, AI is already being applied to practical and income-generating activities.
According to Daba, participants are using AI tools to write product descriptions, create social media content and develop marketing plans for small businesses.
“Our women are using AI for practical, daily work that puts money in their pockets,” she said.
The applications also include drafting professional emails, responding to customer enquiries and using AI assistance while learning software development.
Participants are also using the technology to organise data, including information related to climate and production for local enterprises.
“They are getting help with writing code and fixing technical errors when building software,” Daba said.
For Her Tech Hub, these practical applications are central to its approach. The goal is not simply to introduce women to AI as an abstract technology, but to demonstrate how digital tools can support entrepreneurship, employment and everyday work.
Language and access remain major barriers
Despite the rapid growth of AI tools, Daba believes two fundamental obstacles continue to prevent many women in Northern Nigeria from benefiting from them: language and access to devices.
“It comes down to language and access to devices,” she said.
“Most AI tools and learning materials assume you speak fluent English. If you only understand Hausa well, you are immediately left behind.”
Even when learners understand the concepts being taught, the absence of a laptop or reliable smartphone can make it difficult to build lasting skills.
“And even if you learn the concepts, without a working laptop or smartphone to practise every day, the knowledge fades away,” Daba said.
Her Tech Hub is attempting to address both challenges by delivering training in Hausa while also supporting access to the devices required for hands-on learning.
Building a Hausa-language technology ecosystem
Daba is emphatic that AI and other advanced technologies can serve communities that are more comfortable communicating in African languages.
“Yes, 100 per cent,” she said when asked whether AI could genuinely serve Hausa-speaking communities.
Through Her Tech Hub’s Tech Terminology Translation Project and its Hausa Tech Dictionary, known as Kamus, the organisation is working to explain complex technical concepts in accessible Hausa.
“Through our Tech Terminology Translation Project and our Hausa Tech Dictionary, we have shown that you can explain complex ideas like prompts, algorithms and data structures in clear Hausa without losing their meaning,” Daba said.
The challenge, however, goes beyond direct translation.
“AI needs to understand our real culture, not just translate word-for-word,” she said.
Daba argued that locally relevant examples can make a significant difference in how people understand technology.
“If you want to explain data patterns, talk about market days or trade in Kano, not snow in Europe,” she said.
Her vision is for African languages to be treated as genuine tools for innovation rather than merely secondary languages to be accommodated after technology has been developed elsewhere.
“AI needs to be trained on our local stories, voices and daily realities so that our languages are treated as first-class tools for innovation,” Daba said.
Reaching more than 1,500 people through technology events
Her Tech Hub has already participated in major technology gatherings and training initiatives across Kano.
According to Daba, the organisation has co-organised events including DevFest Kano, which attracted more than 1,500 people, as well as the Women Techmakers Summit.
The organisation has also directly trained more than 100 women and secondary school girls through targeted school outreach programmes and digital literacy masterclasses.
“We have trained 100+ women and secondary school girls across Kano through targeted school outreaches and digital literacy masterclasses,” Daba said.
Through its Shining Stars mentorship programme, Her Tech Hub has also created a pathway for girls to move from secondary school into active technology learning.
“Our girls have moved straight from secondary school into active tech learning,” Daba said.
The impact is beginning to extend beyond training sessions, according to the organisation.
“Our trained graduates are now handling real work – like running digital marketing and managing data systems for local circular businesses,” she said.
‘AI is neither a monster nor magic’
Daba also challenged how artificial intelligence is often portrayed in Nigerian media.
“A lot of coverage either makes AI sound like a monster that will steal everyone’s job or like magic that will fix the country overnight,” she said.
She believes this framing often overlooks how ordinary people are already incorporating AI into their daily work.
“They often miss the everyday reality: ordinary women, tailor shops and young creators using free AI tools on their phones right now to write faster, run their businesses better and earn a decent living.”
For Daba, the more important story around AI in Nigeria may lie in its everyday applications – particularly among small businesses and individuals who are using accessible tools to improve productivity.
Her Tech Hub announces FasaHer Conference 2026
Her Tech Hub also used the exclusive interview with AIBase to announce its next major initiative: the FasaHer Conference 2026, also known as “Ita Da Fasahar Ta”.
The conference is scheduled to take place in Kano on 10 October 2026 and is expected to bring together more than 500 women.
“We are excited to announce the FasaHer Conference 2026, happening on October 10, 2026, in Kano,” Daba said.
She described the event as the North’s first hands-on, all-Hausa women in technology summit.
“It is the North’s first hands-on, all-Hausa women in tech summit, gathering over 500 women for practical AI labs, device repairs through our Gadget Drive, and the showcase of our Hausa Tech Dictionary.”
The event is expected to combine practical AI learning with efforts to improve access to working technology devices – another issue Her Tech Hub has identified as a major barrier to digital participation.
A future of women building AI in Hausa
Looking ahead five years, Daba predicts a significant shift in the role Northern Nigerian women could play in the development of artificial intelligence.
“In the next five years, Northern women won’t just be users of AI; they will be the ones building local AI tools in Hausa for health, education and commerce,” she said.
She also expects more women to build and operate digital businesses from their homes, contributing to economic activity across the region.
“We will see thriving digital businesses run by women right from their homes, powering the regional economy,” Daba said.
For Her Tech Hub, the ambition is therefore larger than teaching women how to use the latest AI tools.
It is about ensuring that women and girls who might otherwise be excluded from the technology economy have the language, skills, devices and support required to participate in building it.
By teaching technology in Hausa, translating technical concepts into locally meaningful language and creating practical pathways from education to employment and entrepreneurship, Safiyya Daba and Her Tech Hub are making the case that Africa’s AI future should not be built only for local communities, but increasingly by them.
“The tools are smart enough; we just have to give them the right local context and language to work with,” Daba said.
