A Transformative Partnership
In 2023, Security Blue Team joined forces with CyberSafe Foundation to support their transformative CyberGirls Fellowship, empowering young women with cybersecurity skills to launch thriving careers. Click here to read where it started. Two years later, we’re thrilled to share success stories from this initiative, backed by compelling data from the World Bank’s November 2023 report, Hacking the Cybersecurity Skills Gap in Developing Countries, which highlights the program’s global impact.
The CyberGirls Fellowship is a seven-month, tuition-free program designed to break down financial and social barriers for women aged 18 to 28, with a strong focus on participants from 22 African countries. With over 20,000 applications annually and only 500 participants selected each year (expected to double to 1,000 in 2024), the program is highly competitive. It offers a full pipeline of technical cybersecurity training, mentorship, entrepreneurial skills, and internship placements, enabling graduates to transition smoothly into the workforce. On average, participants see a remarkable 400% increase in income, showcasing the program’s life-changing impact on economic mobility and career transformation.
Nigeria, where CyberSafe Foundation is based, leads the world with women comprising 34% of its cybersecurity workforce, surpassing the global average of less than 25%. The CyberGirls Fellowship is a driving force behind this achievement, recognized in the World Bank report as a blueprint for tackling gender inequality in tech. Security Blue Team is proud to be a key partner, alongside global leaders like ISC2, ISACA, Microsoft, and Cisco, contributing to tuition-free access and hands-on training that bridges learning to employment.
Success Stories from CyberGirls
The true impact of the CyberGirls Fellowship shines through the stories of its graduates. Here are three participants who earned their Security Blue Team Level 1 (BTL1) certification through this partnership, reflecting their growth and newfound confidence:
- “I’ve officially passed my Security Blue Team Level 1 Exam!! A big thank you to CyberSafe Foundation and Confidence Staveley for giving me this wonderful opportunity. I thoroughly enjoyed the course plus the labs. It was not only insightful but also hands-on, enabling me to sharpen my Blue Team skills. Shout out to my cybersisters for checking up on me occasionally, AMAZING SISTERS!” – Grace
- “Another professional certification in the bag! When Confidence Staveley said she had 4 available BTL1 vouchers, I almost didn’t bother. I thought, ‘there’s no way I would get one.’ Well, I applied and got one voucher, and after just 2 months of preparing, I officially became certified in Level 1 Blue Team Security with a passing grade of 85% in only one sitting! MUYASSAR BUKHARI, thank you for choosing meeeeee!” – Christabel
- “CyberSafe Foundation announced four vouchers for the BTL1 certification, and I applied as quickly as I could and was lucky to be selected. The exam was a 24-hour hands-on practical utilizing tools like Splunk, Wireshark, and Autopsy. Huge thanks to Confidence Staveley and CyberSafe Foundation for creating opportunities. Shoutout to Phidlorah Mcharo and Mola Etchie for your support!” – Faith
These testimonials highlight the rigorous, hands-on nature of the BTL1 certification, which tests real-world skills like phishing analysis, incident response, and digital forensics using tools such as Splunk and Wireshark. The 24-hour exam is intense, but as Grace, Christabel, and Faith demonstrate, it’s a rewarding step toward building expertise in defensive cybersecurity.
A Partnership for Global Change
The CyberGirls Fellowship is more than a training program. It’s a movement to empower women in a male-dominated field, celebrated in the World Bank report alongside programs like India’s CyberShikshaa and the UK’s CyberFirst as a model for community-led, impact-driven education. By providing tuition-free access to world-class training, with a strong emphasis on African communities, CyberSafe Foundation enables women from underprivileged backgrounds to break into cybersecurity. Security Blue Team is honored to support this mission by providing resources and certifications like BTL1, aligning with our goal to democratize cybersecurity education in underserved regions.
As we mark two years of this partnership, we’re inspired by the resilience of CyberGirls like Grace, Christabel, and Faith. Their stories, combined with the program’s recognition as a global best practice, underscore the power of private-public partnerships in creating a more diverse and inclusive cybersecurity workforce.
About Security Blue Team
Security Blue Team is a leading online defensive cybersecurity training provider with over 100,000 students worldwide, training security teams across governments, military units, law enforcement agencies, managed security providers, and many more industries. We congratulate CyberSafe Foundation and the CyberGirls Fellowship for their remarkable success in transforming lives and promoting gender diversity in cybersecurity.
