Confidence Staveley becomes first Nigerian finalist of Cybersecurity Woman of the Year Award

In a bid to recognize individuals who have been outstanding in the field of expertise, Confidence Staveley, fondly described as the ‘Relatable Cybersecurity Queen‘ has been announced as a finalist of the prestigious Cybersecurity Woman of the Year Award 2021.

Confidence is not just the first Nigerian to become a finalist but also the first African to be a finalist in her category, the Cybersecurity People’s Choice. 

The Cybersecurity Woman of the Year Award is an annual event celebrating female cybersecurity leaders changing the world. Hosted by inteligenca, winners of each category will be revealed at the Cybersecurity Woman of the Year 2021 Awards GALA, scheduled to hold in Las Vegas on August 3rd, 2021.

This global industry recognition comes on the heels of the outstanding contribution she is making through her organization, Cybersafe Foundation.

The Cybersafe Foundation is a Non-Governmental Organization on a mission to facilitate pockets of human behavioural and capacity changes to ensure a safer internet for everyone with digital access and resident in Africa. 

Through her various interventions on a safer internet, Confidence recently launched CyberGirls, a free 1-year fellowship designed to equip girls with globally sought-after cybersecurity skills, positioning them to start a career in cybersecurity. 

Through the CyberGirls fellowship, she is training 100+ girls in Calabar, Enugu, Lokoja, Yola, Kaduna and Ibadan. She uses innovative ways to teach such as her social media accounts about cybersafe in a very relatable way, sometimes using insightful TikTok style videos.

Confidence is also contributing to combating cyber-fraud through Cybersafe Foundation’s NoGoFallMaga initiative. Led by herself, Cybersafe Foundation has in the recent past, launched cybersecurity awareness campaigns reaching over 10,000,000 people in Nigeria. The foundation has also organized cybersecurity training for over 4,426 SMEs in partnership with the UK Government. 

These and many more of her contributions to fighting cybercrime in Nigeria has earned her recognition across Africa, including emerging as one of the Top 50 Women in Cybersecurity Africa 2020.

Speaking on the nomination, a member of the advisory board at Cybersafe Foundation, Iretioluwa Akerele called on Nigerians to support her to finally cringe the medals.

She said, “Confidence needs your vote to win in her category and bring this award home from Las Vegas. 

“How to vote:  1. Visit this link https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CPLZD28. From there enter your first name, last name, email address. Then, scroll to number 10, select her name, and click ‘Done'”.

“We are confident that with the support from Nigerians Confidence will make our country proud”, Iretioluwa Akerele added.