The tech enthusiast strongly advocates empowering women in the African digital ecosystem. She is considered one of the pioneers in the promotion of ICT for all in Côte d'Ivoire and Africa as a whole.
Christelle Assirou (photo) is an Ivorian tech entrepreneur committed to empowering women. In 2007, she founded NGO "Femmes & TIC" (Women and ICT), which aims to attract women in the ICT industry for its development.
"Currently, women are 14% less likely to own a cell phone than men. The digital sector can offer huge opportunities to women if we manage to reduce the inequalities caused notably by lack of training and the absence of committed networks," she explained, in June 2019, during the European Development Days.
The tech entrepreneur is also the CEO of ICTINA, a strategic marketing, digital transformation, and digital marketing agency.
She graduated from the UFR SEG, in France, with a Master's in Financial and Management Accounting (in 2001) and a specialized graduate diploma (DESS) in 2008. Since 2013, she is the coordinator of the network "Femme, Numérique et Développment."
She is also a founding member of the Internet Society Côte d'Ivoire (ISOC CI), the local chapter of the ISOC. She entered the professional world, in 2004, with business service provider COMETE, where she spent three years as a commercial manager.
In 2008, she became the associate director of Open Technologies in Côte d'Ivoire. About five years later, in 2013, she was hired as the marketing manager of the digital agency Smile. From 2016 to 2017, she was the technical adviser in charge of digital inclusion at the Ivorian Ministry of Women.
During the second edition of the Africa Open Innovation Summit (October 20-21, 2022), Christelle Assirou was the chief commissioner. In 2020, she was part of the initiative eTrade for Women. UNESCO named her on its pioneer list of "Remarkable Women in Technology." In 2021, she organized a masterclass dedicated to connecting women entrepreneurs operating in the local digital ecosystem.
Melchior Koba
