SWIS Hub Is Live: Inside the Launch of SWIS Africa's New Platform

A new home for young African women in STEM

On September 26, 2026, SWIS Africa officially launched the SWIS Hub platform at myswishub.com, a digital space built to help young African women find the learning, mentorship and opportunities they need to grow in STEM.

For six years, SWIS Africa (Shaping African Women in STEM) has worked with more than 5,000 young women through training, mentorship and community programmes. Again and again, we heard the same thing: talent was never the problem. Access was. Young women wanted a single place to build skills, connect with mentors and discover opportunities that match where they want to go, whether that is academia, entrepreneurship or a corporate career.

SWIS Hub is our answer to that need, and the launch marked the moment it opened its doors to everyone.

A launch that put young women at the centre

More than 50 people joined us for the launch, and the room belonged to the participants of SWIS EmpowHer, our programme that prepares final-year female STEM students for careers in academia, industry and entrepreneurship.

The day doubled as a showcase. EmpowHer participants stood up to defend the group projects they had built over the course of the programme, presenting their ideas, answering questions and showing just how much they had grown. It felt like the right way to launch a platform designed for them: not with a ribbon, but with young women doing the work.

The timing was intentional too. As EmpowHer moves into its final phase, SWIS Hub gives its participants, and the many young women who will come after them, a place to keep learning and stay connected long after a programme ends.

What you will find on SWIS Hub

The early response has been encouraging. About 100 people have already registered on the platform, and it now hosts more than 30 courses and over 50 opportunities that users can explore and apply for.

The courses are there to help young women build practical skills at their own pace. The opportunities section brings together openings that can move a career forward, so that finding the next step no longer depends on who you know or which group chat you happen to be in. Students and mentors each have their own login, making it easier for mentors to share their experience and for students to find the guidance they are looking for.

Every part of the platform is organised around three pathways: academia, entrepreneurship and corporate careers. Whichever direction a young woman chooses, SWIS Hub is designed to meet her there.

• 

• 

• 

• 
• 
• 

What comes next

The launch is a beginning, not a finish line. We will keep adding courses and opportunities, and the platform will grow alongside the other parts of the SWIS Hub programme, including our Pop-Up Innovation Labs travelling across Nigerian cities and our Media Fellowship and STEM Circles. Our hope is to reach young women across Africa who are ready to take their place in STEM.

If you are a young woman between 16 and 35 with an interest in STEM, we would love to have you. Visit myswishub.com to create your account, start a course and explore the opportunities waiting for you. If you are a professional who wants to give back, sign up as a mentor and help open doors for the next generation.

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who joined us on September 26, and a special congratulations to the SWIS EmpowHer participants who presented their projects with such confidence.

SWIS Hub is funded by the AU-EU Youth Action Lab Innovation Grant, co-funded by the European Union and the African Union and managed by Oxfam Novib.