Code Queens Uganda and Women in Technology Uganda (WITU) are the two most visible organizations providing free coding training for women in Uganda. Both remove the financial barrier entirely, which matters in a country where women face disproportionate obstacles to tech education. Code Queens focuses on introductory coding workshops and training cohorts. WITU provides broader support including mentorship, networking, and community. The programs are genuine and well-intentioned. The limitation is scope: most programs are introductory and short-term. Graduates typically need additional training (self-study, bootcamp, or university) to reach employment-ready level. These programs are best understood as starting points and community connections, not complete career training on their own.
Valuable free entry point for women interested in tech, with genuine community support and mentorship. The programs remove the financial barrier and provide a supportive learning environment. The main limitation is that they are introductory and typically require follow-up training to reach employment readiness.
Best for:
Not ideal for:
Code Queens Uganda runs coding workshops and training programs exclusively for women. The organization aims to increase the number of women in Uganda's tech industry by removing the two biggest barriers: cost and an unwelcoming learning environment.
What they typically teach:
Format: Code Queens runs cohort-based programs, meaning you apply for a specific intake and learn with a group of other women over a defined period. Some programs are multi-week structured courses. Others are shorter workshops or hackathon-style events. The format varies by funding cycle and partnerships.
Where: Primarily in Kampala, often hosted at tech hubs like The Innovation Village, Hive Colab, or partner spaces. Some programs have expanded to other cities. Follow Code Queens on social media for location-specific announcements.
The key value: Code Queens does not just teach coding. It creates a community of women who are all navigating the same challenge: entering a male-dominated industry. That peer support has value beyond the technical content.
WITU operates as a broader support organization for women in Uganda's tech sector. While Code Queens focuses specifically on coding training, WITU provides a wider range of support including mentorship, networking events, career development, and community building.
What WITU offers:
How WITU differs from Code Queens: Code Queens is primarily a training program. WITU is primarily a community and mentorship organization. Code Queens teaches you to write code. WITU connects you with people who can advise you on your career, introduce you to employers, and support you through the challenges of being a woman in tech in Uganda.
The combination approach: Many women participate in both. Take Code Queens for the coding training. Join WITU for the ongoing mentorship and community. The two are complementary, not competitive.
Get weekly developer tips
Join 25,000+ developers. Practical guides, job tips, and new content — straight to your inbox.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Being honest about limitations is important so you can plan your full learning path, not just the free starting segment.
They are not complete career training. Code Queens programs are typically introductory. Learning HTML, CSS, and basic JavaScript over a few weeks gives you a foundation, but it does not make you employment-ready as a developer. You will need to continue learning significantly beyond what these programs cover.
They do not cover advanced or specialized topics. Mobile money integration (MTN MoMo, Airtel Money APIs), modern frameworks (React, Vue, Angular), back-end development (Node.js, Python/Django), database design, deployment, and AI engineering are generally beyond the scope of these introductory programs.
They do not guarantee employment. No program does, but this bears repeating. Completing a Code Queens cohort is a starting point, not a finish line. Employment requires building substantially more skills, creating a portfolio of projects, and going through the job search process.
They have limited capacity. Both organizations depend on funding, volunteer instructors, and partnerships. Program frequency and availability fluctuate. You may need to wait for the next intake, and there is no guarantee of when that will be.
This is not criticism. Free programs operated by passionate volunteers with limited funding cannot be everything. They fill an important gap: giving women a zero-risk entry point into coding. The responsibility for what comes after falls on the individual learner.
The programs are a starting point. Here is how to build on them.
Immediately after completing a program:
When you are ready to invest in structured training:
Stay connected to the community: Keep attending WITU events and connecting with mentors. The women you meet in these programs become your professional network. Some will become colleagues, co-founders, or referral sources for job opportunities. Networking is not a one-time event. It is an ongoing relationship.
Apply for opportunities actively: Look for tech internships, junior developer roles, and freelance projects. Your Code Queens completion plus ongoing self-study plus a portfolio of projects makes you a candidate. Not a guaranteed hire, but a real candidate. Start applying before you feel "ready" because you will never feel fully ready.
Some people question why women-only programs exist when mixed programs are available to everyone. The answer is practical, not ideological.
The numbers: Women are significantly underrepresented in Uganda's tech sector. The exact percentage varies by study, but women make up a small minority of working developers, technical leads, and tech founders in Uganda. This is not because women are less capable. It is because structural barriers (cost, cultural expectations, unwelcoming learning environments, lack of role models) reduce participation.
The learning environment difference: Research consistently shows that women participate more actively, ask more questions, and report higher confidence in women-only learning settings compared to mixed settings where they are a small minority. This is not about segregation. It is about creating conditions where learning happens most effectively for a group that faces specific obstacles.
The mentorship gap: When there are few women in tech, there are few women mentors. Programs like Code Queens and WITU create concentrated mentorship opportunities that would be difficult to find in the general tech community.
The goal is not permanent separation. The goal is to build enough skill and confidence in a supportive environment that women can enter the broader tech industry on equal footing. Every woman who enters tech through Code Queens or WITU and succeeds makes it slightly easier for the next woman.
Create a free McTaba Academy account. Access starter lessons, join the community, and explore at your own pace.
Create Free Account