Ethel Cofie is one of Africa’s Top 5 Women in IT. She is the CEO and Founder of EDEL Technology Consulting, a West African and European IT consulting and digital products company that was recently recognized IT Consulting Firm of the Year by the Telecoms and IT Industry.

Cofie graduated from Valley View University in Ghana with a bachelor’s degree in computer science, a master’s degree in distribution systems from the University of Brighton, and an executive degree in leadership, business, and entrepreneurship from the Yale School of Management.

Ethel is a leading advocate for women’s empowerment in and via technology in Africa. She is the creator of Women in Tech Africa, Africa’s largest women in tech organization, with over 30 nations and diaspora members and expanding. She also organized the first Pan African women in technology meetup and was nominated for the UN GEM Tech Award for her efforts helping women in ICT. She is also the founder of Women in Tech Week, a worldwide event that brought together women in technology for the first time in 2016. The first events in Ghana, Nigeria, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Canada, Germany, Belgium, and China brought together over 10,000 women digitally with physical events in Ghana, Nigeria, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Canada, Germany, Belgium, and China.

Ethel Cofie is a Mandela Fellow for President Obama’s Young African Leaders initiative (YALI) with a wealth of technical and commercial skills acquired across a wide range of demanding roles and has also been featured on BBC as well.

In May 2021, Ethel Cofie published “In Search of the Gazelle: Essays on Tech and Business in Africa”, The book is a collection of articles that highlight the lessons Ethel Cofie has learned in her 15 years as a woman leader in technology business in Africa.

When Cofie is not heading EDEL or Women in Tech Africa, she enjoys advising and consulting on technology growth in emerging markets and increasing the number of women working in technology across Africa.