Bridging the Gap through Mentorship: GovStack Women Shaping the Future of Digital Services

Women remain significantly underrepresented in GovTech, despite the global commitment to gender equality in digital transformation as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The GovStack Women in GovTech Challenge 2026 directly contributes to this goal by empowering women to design and develop safe, inclusive, and citizen-centric digital government services while fostering a strong international network of women leaders in GovTech.

Building on the success of the inaugural edition in 2024 and the second cohort of 2025, we have now brought together an alumni community of 308 women from 50 countries. The Women in GovTech Challenge returns in 2026 — with a broader scope, hands-on implementation pathways, and even more partners.

In the third edition, we are excited to once again partner with the World Bank and the DPI Safeguards Initiative , stewarded by the UN Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies (UN ODET) and the UNDP, and to welcome our new partners: University College London (UCL) as academic partner, and the Open Source Ecosystem Enabler (OSEE) initiative.

This transformative programme enhances participants’ technical expertise and leadership skills, equipping them to shape the future of digital governance. The third cohort builds on the success of the previous two editions with a new, ambitious goal: to move beyond training and wireframing towards prototyping and moving a step closer to real-world implementation pathways.

This year’s challenge expands its scope to provide a complete, hands-on experience in creating citizen-centric digital government services. The challenge aims to bridge the gap between design and technical implementation, empowering multidisciplinary teams of women to become leaders in digital government transformation.

This year, Participants alongside learning the GovStack open-source inclusive approach to digital service design keeping in mind the DPI Safeguards principles will also have the opportunity to pitch their prototypes to ecosystem partners. Teams will have the chance to pick working on current ongoing implementations or decide their own use case in teams.

What to Expect?

From Learning to Prototyping and potentially exploring Implementation

The third cohort of the Women in GovTech Challenge bridges the gap between design and delivery, giving participants a truly hands-on experience in digital transformation.

The programme empowers women to move from ideas to prototypes and closer to real-world implementation, equipping them with the technical expertise, leadership skills, and global networks to drive citizen-centric digital government.

It aims to:

• Build leadership and facilitation capacity among mentors.
• Develop implementation-ready digital solutions that respond to real, partner-defined challenges.
• Strengthen a global network of women practitioners advancing digital government.
• Showcase prototypes at Demo Day and explore pathways for in-country pilots.
• Participants will also gain:

Technical Skills — Learn the GovStack Building Block approach to designing digital services; apply the DPI Safeguards Framework to embed safety, equity, and inclusion from the outset; and manage agile teams to create interoperable, scalable solutions.

Soft Skills — Strengthen communication, collaboration, and critical thinking to navigate complex projects and diverse, multidisciplinary teams.

Career Development — Build leadership, decision-making, and people-management capabilities to expand career opportunities in GovTech.

Networking Opportunities — Connect with leading voices in the ecosystem, and join an international cohort of women shaping the future of digital public infrastructure.

Apply Now!

Don’t miss your chance to join a global network of women leaders in digital government.

📍 Deadline: 7 December 2025

Criteria for joining as a mentee, team, or mentor

Criteria for Mentees

• Who can apply: Women working in Government, Private Sector, Civil society, or Academia in roles such as, but not limited to:
  • Project Coordinator
  • Service Designer
  • Policy/Legal Advisor
  • User Research Specialist
  • Solution Architect
  • Developer/Technical Specialist
• Demonstrate Interest or Experience in GovTech: Show interest in GovTech or prior experience in digital transformation initiatives.
• Be Comfortable in English: The programme will be conducted in English.
• Time Commitment:
  • 1.5 hours per week for mandatory lecture sessions.
  • 1 hour for Networking Sessions (three weeks out of six).
  • Optional Office Hours: 2 sessions per week, 1 hour each.
  • 2 hours per week for assignments and group work.

Criteria for Mentors

• Criteria for Mentors
  • Who can apply: Senior women leaders in GovTech from Government, Private Sector, or Academia.
  • Be Comfortable in English: The programme will be conducted in English.
  • Stable Internet Access: Ensure reliable connectivity for mentor sessions.
  • Time Commitment:
    • 2 hours per week to mentor participants and provide guidance and feedback during the programme.

Criteria for Group Mentees

• Who can apply: Team of 2-6 women working in Government, Private Sector, Civil society, or Academia in roles such as, but not limited to:
  • Project Coordinator
  • Service Designer
  • Policy/Legal Advisor
  • User Research Specialist
  • Solution Architect
  • Developer/Technical Specialist
• If you are applying as a team of six women, try to maintain a balanced mix of technical and policy expertise.
• Demonstrate Interest or Experience in GovTech: Show interest in GovTech or prior experience in digital transformation initiatives.
• Be Comfortable in English: The programme will be conducted in English.
• Time Commitment:
  • 1.5 hours per week for mandatory lecture sessions.
  • 1 hour for Networking Sessions (three weeks out of six).
  • Optional Office Hours: 2 sessions per week, 1 hour each.
  • 2 hours per week for assignments and group work.