We found how to get women into tech! Join this October for a 4-day bootcamp
This October, a new season of the kood/Garage48 Empowering Women program launches in Jõhvi, inviting women from Ida-Virumaa to build technology and entrepreneurship skills — free of charge. The program opens with a four-day coding bootcamp (October 6–9) for beginners, followed by a 48-hour hackathon (October 16–18) where participants turn their ideas into business prototypes. The top teams then move on to an accelerator program running through December.
Real impact for women
“Previous seasons of the program showed just how much interest women have in digital skills and entrepreneurship. Participants tested their ideas, assessed their business potential, and found skilled people to work with. Many first-time participants formed teams that are still working together today,” says Laura Gredzens, project lead at Garage48.
A driver for the region’s economy
Ida-Virumaa is undergoing a major economic transformation as the region shifts toward a climate-neutral economy. The gradual decline of the oil shale industry has eliminated jobs and increased economic uncertainty. A sustainable future for the region depends on creating new, high-value jobs — which in turn requires new knowledge and skills.
Open to everyone
“Women remain particularly vulnerable in this situation: their access to training, digital skills, and stable job opportunities has so far been limited. Even though the tech sector offers flexible, well-paid roles, women are still underrepresented in the field,” says Kätlin Merisalu, lead of the kood/Empower coding bootcamp.
Together, Garage48 and //kood offer a hands-on introduction to programming and tech entrepreneurship. The program is free, and no prior IT or business experience is required — all that matters is curiosity, a willingness to learn, and openness to trying something new.
Renewed for Season 2
This is the second time the program has run in Ida-Virumaa. The first cohort (February–May) drew strong enthusiasm, with participants joining from across the region. There was particular interest in AI tools and product development, which allowed people without a technical background to build working solutions.
The full program consists of three phases:
Phase 1 — kood/Empower coding bootcamp (October 6–9). Participants gain a foundational introduction to programming, explore the different roles and opportunities within tech, and experiment with building simple digital solutions — getting a real feel for a developer’s day-to-day work.
Phase 2 — Garage48 Empowering Women hackathon (October 16–18). Open both to women who already have an idea and to those looking for one. Participants can take part on their own or as part of an existing team. Over 48 hours, teams develop their ideas and build a first prototype with support from mentors, and the top teams receive special awards.
Phase 3 — Garage48 Empowering Women accelerator (October–December). The winning teams get ongoing guidance from mentors and experts to take their ideas to the next level, through workshops covering product development, business modeling, marketing, sales, customer acquisition, fundraising, and pitching. The program wraps up with a demo day showcasing what participants have built.
More than just skills
Beyond building new skills, the program creates space for women entrepreneurs to network, share experience, form partnerships, and build connections that last well beyond the program itself.
The program runs in English, with mentor support available in Estonian and Russian as needed.
The project is co-funded by the European Union through the Just Transition Fund, and kood/Empower is additionally supported by Swedbank, the main sponsor of kood/Women.
Registration: https://kood.tech/en/short-courses/kood-garage48/ More information: https://garage48.org/events/empoweringwomen
Contacts:
Kätlin Merisalu Head of Learning Centers, //kood katlin@kood.tech
Laura Gredzens Garage48 laura@garage48.org