Key players from the energy and development sectors convened in Abuja yesterday to launch the STEM Project, a national initiative aimed at empowering Nigerian schoolgirls through science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education.

The programme, jointly implemented by Solar Sister Nigeria and supported by the ExxonMobil Foundation, will reach over 300 girls, aged 11 to 14, across federal government colleges in Nigeria’s geopolitical zones.

With the crisis facing girl-child in Nigeria, especially their low enrolment in STEM, stakeholders said at the event that the project would spark interest in STEM subjects, increase girls’ confidence, and position them for future careers in innovation and technology.

Speaking at the event, the Chief Executive Officer of Solar Sister, Olasimbo Sojinrin, said the project would give young girls the chance to see, touch and explore STEM tools, thereby planting the seed of curiosity and building a future where the girls would see themselves as scientists, engineers, and innovators.

Solar Sister, known for its women-led clean energy model, said she had helped to distribute solar products and clean cooking technologies across rural Nigeria.

Speaking at the launch, ExxonMobil Media and Communications Manager, Ozemoya Okordion, stressed the importance of investing in girls’ education. Founder of the Girls Voices Initiative and an alumna of the U.S. State Department’s TechWomen Programme, Carolyn Seaman, described the initiative as a timely intervention to bridge Nigeria’s gender gap in STEM.

The Chief Operating Officer of the Visiola Foundation, which has trained over 17,000 girls in STEM across Africa, Jacqueline Malenga, called attention to the global gender imbalance in STEM careers.

Country Director of Solar Sister Nigeria, Chioma Ome, said the move would not only equip girls with tools, but with confidence that would ignite new possibilities for every girl who dares to dream.