Meet Achia Nila.

I have been following Nila for several months on the LinkedIn platform. I am amazed and inspired by what she does for women in her community, in Bangladesh, which is simply remarkable. She is breaking stereotypes by empowering women through Technology. Through her Tech company and school, 10,000+ young girls and women are educated, trained, and empowered through Technology in Bangladesh. 

Nila is the founder of Women in Digital - Empowerment through Technology. She is a computer engineer. She has been in this industry for more than 15 years, hence, working for different multinational companies and now she runs her own IT company with 25+ women engineers and her Tech school. 

Nila was born and raised in a village. Despite that, she still received a good education. When Nila started university, that is when she realized and was shocked by the gender issues that exist in the Technology field as she was the only woman in her class, and the rest were men. When she landed her first job, Nila stated that she faced many challenges being the only woman in the IT department, a woman who can code.

"There were so many challenges, and the more time I spent, the more aware I became of the challenges that women face. It was heartbreaking to me that women were not allowed in this space and were judged for doing this work. The entire society was constantly judging our existence, capabilities, wants, needs, and dreams, all based on our gender. I knew very clearly that I am not going to keep fighting just for my own personal acceptance. Coding is something I love, I enjoy. There is nothing about being a man or woman that affects coding. As I started to think more about this, it became a bigger vision for me. I wanted to bring more Bangladeshi women into technology. To empower women through technology. This is how Women in Digital was born." 

About Women in Digital

Women in Digital (WID) is dedicated to promoting women and girls’ education and empowerment through technology. It was established in 2013, and they aim to create digital platforms to support, promote and empower women and girls in areas of information and technology. 

Women in Digital is concerned about the existing digital and gender divide within the IT sector and thus is focused to unpack these challenges and offer practical solutions along with advocating for inclusive and empowering policy provisions. Since its establishment, it has trained and empowered more than 10,000 adolescent girls and women all over Bangladesh. What a remarkable achievement! 👏 

Women in Digital is not only working towards the digital literacy of women and girls but also offering market-relevant IT skills including online business development, offering digital marketing space to profile products, development of the app, reaching to targeted online customers, and raising individual profile with the special focus to women and girls.  In addition, they are working towards digital-economic inclusion and empowerment of women and girls. 

They are proud to share that ‘Women in Digital’ is the only women-led, women and girls’ focused organization within the IT sector in Bangladesh. 

Thousands of women and girls that they have trained have not only started jobs, do online business but also significantly changed deep-rooted social and gender norms in Bangladesh. 

The combination of IT, financial inclusion, gender, and empowerment aspects make them unique as they aspire to see women and girls' leadership and economic independence in a more sustained way which will have an inter-generational impact. They also express their global solidarity on the same. 

About Lumina Digital

Lumina Digital is a female-led agency, proudly operating out of Bangladesh. It was founded in 2013 by Achia Nila, an internationally recognized technology leader who also serves as an IT Expert for the International Telecommunication Union and the Country Director for Women Who Code. Nila founded Lumina Digital alongside Women in Digital, a training center empowering women in Bangladesh with advanced technology skills. Many of the engineers at Lumina are the top-performing graduates from that program. 

If you need any technical support like web development, mobile app development, digital marketing, and graphic support, please feel free to contact them at info@womenindigital.net & Whatsapp: +8801716789541.

Nila's Achievement

Nila has completed her BSc and MSc in Computer Science and Engineering. She is an IVLP Alumni, an Acumen, and a British Council fellow. She has received many international awards for her work. 

She has served in some of the internationally recognized organizations such as Dell, Microsoft, HP, Epson, Colgate, HillsPet, J&J, HTC, HSBC, Vodafone, Sony, Unilever, Betfair, and Nokia, etc. She has launched a local product successfully named Maya Apa mobile application. Her expatriates are IT product development (web and mobile apps, AI Data Science, and Games), product management, project management, team lead, and many more. 

She is the first person from Bangladesh to join as an international IT expert for the International Telecommunication Union. She also works as a consultant for government projects and donor agencies. She is a Country Director for Women Who Code. 

National Hackathon for Women was first arranged by Nila in Bangladesh with so many other competitions for women. Her organization runs an accelerator program for women named Digital Innovation Challenge for Women (DICFW). 

In the year 2019, Nila was selected for the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) in the United States. The IVLP is designed to provide foreign leaders and scholars with the opportunity to meet American colleagues and become better acquainted with the United States, its culture, and its people. One of the program's major goals is to promote the development of friendly relations between the United States and other countries. This is the top prestigious program from the United States. 

2020 & Achievements

1. Received Acumen fellowship.

2. Attended WOW festival by British Council.

3. Award Received from:

•  World Pulse #SheTransformsTech Featured Changemaker!
• International Telecommunication Union EQUALS - The Global Partnership for Gender Equality in the Digital Age Digital Innovation Challenge 2020, Project: ​Empowering girls and women through technology and making them financially empowered through mobile internet.
• Women Who Code Honorary Global Changemaker.

4. Director General, Bangladesh. Global Council for the Promotion of International Trade.

"Global Leaders driving Innovation, Incubation, Entrepreneurship, International Trade and Technology Roadmapping".

5. Published one report on "Women in Digital" at UNESCO.

Questions & Answers with Nila

What challenges did you face both professionally and personally while working in the tech field?

The first challenge is: I am a woman. 

The second challenge is: I am a Tech woman. 

The third challenge is: I am a female entrepreneur. 

The fourth challenge is: I am working for women. 

In our society, people love to think that women can only manage the home. But times have changed and it is time to admit the fact that women can manage both homes and work. Women in Digital will constantly work on this. 

How did you overcome them?

I am always focused on my work and ignore what people are talking about me. I can't hear and see the negative things. 

What interested or inspired you to take up the Tech field?

I love Mathematics and that brings me to the Tech field. But my father and grandfather support me to stay in this field. 

Were your family and friends supportive of your interest in the Tech field?

My father and grandfather support me to stay in this field but others I need to convince them from time to time. 

What motivates you?

My struggles in the Tech field. 

Where do you see yourself in 5 to 10 years' time?

Now we are running our business in Nepal. Also, within 5 years, we want to enter more countries, especially Asian and African markets. 

Apart from Tech, do you have other interests?

Yes! I love to draw paintings and traveling.

What do you do for fun?

Travel.

Are you part of any communities?

I am part of my community "Women in Digital" besides this, I am also part of "Women Who Code", "She Trades", "GCPIT", and many more. 

What advice do you have for women/girls who would like to work in the tech field?

Think about impact! 

What impact you have created in your life. What impact you want to create in others' lives. How you measure your impact on your business. Design a business model where you will be able to make money and at the same time, you will be able to change others' lives. 

Be confident with your own strengths and know-how-to-sell yourself first, then your product. 

Is there anything else you like to tell?

I want to make a world without boundaries! 😉

Source: https://thattechgurl.com/inspiring-women/f/achia-nila-super-woman-in-digital