Top 10 Women in Tech Groups and Resources in Tonga in 2026

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• AnitaB.org
• Pacific Women in ICT
• National ICT EXPO
• Commonwealth of Learning
• Girls Who Code
• Australia Awards Scholarships
• University of the South Pacific Tonga Campus
• CERT Tonga
• Pacific Women Lead
• Tonga Women in ICT (TWICT) / CocoNECT
• Conclusion
• Frequently Asked Questions

AnitaB.org

AnitaB.org doesn’t have a physical chapter in Nuku‘alofa, but its virtual programming is fully accessible to Tongan women. The Grace Hopper Celebration offers scholarships and remote attendance options, while year-round “Braindates” provide one-on-one mentoring and peer coaching. For Tongan women working in AI, cybersecurity, or software engineering, these global connections can open doors to international roles and collaborations with Pacific diaspora professionals - without requiring a plane ticket.

The platform also publishes salary benchmarks and career guides, giving you the data to negotiate a fair rate in a market where ICT roles average 40,000-60,000 TOP per year. That’s a critical resource when interviewing with employers like Digicel Tonga, the Bank of Tonga, or the Ministry of MEIDECC, where compensation transparency isn’t always standard practice.

How to get involved: Create a free profile at anitab.org and sign up for the next virtual Braindate. No travel required - just a reliable internet connection. The Tongan government has continued pushing for universal connectivity across all islands, a priority reiterated in its statement to the UN Commission on the Status of Women. Until then, the TWICT Hub in Nukuʻalofa offers free Wi-Fi for members who need a stable connection to participate.

Pacific Women in ICT

Pacific Women in ICT (PICwICT) operates as a virtual meetup group connecting women in tech across the Pacific Islands, with members describing it as a “proud Pacific mums” community where Zoom calls often feature women managing children in one hand and code in another. The group hosts monthly sessions covering practical topics relevant to the region, including:

• Cloud infrastructure and architecture designed for Pacific bandwidth constraints
• Mobile-first design tailored to smartphone-dominant markets like Tonga
• Grant writing for regional projects funded by organisations like Pacific Women Lead

For Tongan women, this is a rare chance to network with peers in Suva, Port Moresby, and Auckland - comparing salary expectations and sharing job leads at employers like the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat or regional NGOs that actively recruit across the region. The group’s strength lies in its understanding of Pacific cultural norms: virtual meetups accommodate family responsibilities, and conversations openly address the challenge of balancing caregiving with a technical career.

How to join: Search for “Pacific Women in ICT” on LinkedIn or Facebook. Meetings are announced through the TWICT newsletter and the Commonwealth of Learning’s Tonga page, which also lists upcoming regional training opportunities. No membership fee applies - just bring your cup of tea and your willingness to pass the bowl.

National ICT EXPO

Hosted annually by TWICT and sponsored by the Australian Government and the Ministry of MEIDECC, the National ICT EXPO is Tonga’s premier tech career event. The 2025 edition showcased innovations from local startups and connected over 200 students with employers like Digicel Tonga, Tonga Cable Ltd, and the Bank of Tonga - a tangible pipeline into the local job market where ICT roles typically pay 40,000-60,000 TOP per year.

The 2026 EXPO is scheduled for October at the Tonga National University, featuring a dedicated AI and machine learning track, a speed-mentoring session with women engineers, and a startup pitch competition with prize funding of up to 10,000 TOP. For founders with a mobile-first idea targeting Tonga’s smartphone-dominant population or an e-government solution aligned with national digital priorities, this competition offers both capital and visibility.

Follow TWICT on Instagram for registration details - early bird tickets are typically 20 TOP. The National ICT Expo remains unmatched for face-to-face networking, internship offers, and the chance to meet decision-makers from Tonga Development Bank, Tonga Power, and government ministries in a single afternoon. It’s one day, but it can reshape your career trajectory.

Commonwealth of Learning

The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) partners directly with TWICT to deliver digital literacy and leadership workshops for Tongan women, with a deliberate focus on reaching those in rural and outer island communities. In 2024-2025, COL funded “Train the Trainer” sessions that equipped 60 female teachers and small business owners with practical skills in AI tools, social media marketing, and cybersecurity basics. The program specifically provides data-light offline learning materials and portable hotspot devices - a critical design choice given Tonga’s ongoing efforts to achieve universal internet connectivity across all islands.

Graduates earn a certificate recognised by the Ministry of Education, and many go on to mentor other women in their villages, extending the program’s reach far beyond its direct participants. This cascading model mirrors the kava bowl philosophy: trained trainers pass their knowledge to others, building digital literacy from the ground up. The Commonwealth of Learning describes TWICT as “a beacon of empowerment and innovation”, noting how grassroots training creates measurable impact in communities where formal tech education has been inaccessible.

For 2026, COL’s Digital Leadership Fellowship will cover up to 5 Tongan women, offering fully funded online courses from the University of the South Pacific plus a small stipend of 1,500 TOP to offset connectivity costs. Check the COL Tonga page for application updates - past fellows have moved into roles at Tonga Power, local banks, and regional NGOs, proving that targeted digital literacy support can bridge the gap between village life and a career in tech.

Girls Who Code

Girls Who Code reaches Tongan students entirely online through two flagship programs: the 7-week Fall Pathways Program and the 2-week Summer Immersion, both offered completely free of charge. Participants can choose from tracks in Data Science + AI, Cybersecurity, and Web Development - all designed to be self-paced with weekly live mentor check-ins, making them practical for students balancing school and family responsibilities in Tonga’s tight-knit communities.

In 2025, over 30 Tongan girls participated, and the program provided Chromebook loaners to those without a personal device - a crucial bridge where household computer access isn’t universal. Graduates join a global alumni network and receive priority applications for tech internships at companies like Amazon and Google, pathways that would otherwise remain out of reach for most young women in Nuku‘alofa or the outer islands.

Eligibility is inclusive: open to cis and trans women, non-binary individuals, and all Tongan residents aged 15-25 with basic internet access. Applications for the Fall Pathways Program open each June via the Girls Who Code Fall Pathways FAQ page. For those who want to see what the experience looks like before committing, the organisation publishes Industry Immersion Day walkthroughs on YouTube showing Tongan students navigating the platform from their own homes.

Australia Awards Scholarships

The flagship Australia Awards Scholarships program has become a critical pipeline for Tongan women entering ICT, with 8 women receiving full scholarships in the 2025 round to study cybersecurity, data science, and software engineering at Australian universities. Each scholarship covers tuition up to 90,000 AUD per year (approximately 190,000 TOP at current rates), plus airfare, a living allowance, and return support - removing virtually every financial barrier to world-class tech education.

The program requires a commitment to return to Tonga post-study, directly addressing the brain drain challenge that has historically depleted the kingdom’s technical talent. This requirement is intentional: Tonga’s national digital priorities - e-Government transformation, cyber resilience, and agricultural tech - need locally rooted expertise to succeed. Graduates often move into roles at the Ministry of MEIDECC, Tonga Development Bank, or Tonga Power, where ICT salaries typically range from 40,000-70,000 TOP.

To increase your chances of selection, prioritise degree programs aligned with these national priorities. Applications for the next round usually open in February each year. Check the Tonga Australia Awards page for the official call, typically published through the Australian High Commission in Nukuʻalofa. As TWICT founders Salise and Courtney Faivaʻilo have noted, programs like these “discovered the power of resilience, influence, and collaboration” - returning scholars then feed that power back into the local ecosystem.

University of the South Pacific Tonga Campus

The USP Tonga Campus in Nukuʻalofa offers diplomas, degrees, and postgraduate certificates in ICT without requiring students to leave the kingdom. Course offerings include Foundations of AI and Machine Learning, Network Security, and Digital Entrepreneurship - directly aligned with the skills local employers like Digicel Tonga, Tonga Power, and the Bank of Tonga are hiring for. Tuition runs approximately 3,500 TOP per semester for locals, a fraction of what private providers or overseas study costs.

USP partners with TWICT to offer 10 partial scholarships annually for women enrolling in ICT programmes, reducing the financial barrier further. The campus’s alumni include Salise and Courtney Faivaʻilo, founders of CocoNECT (now TWICT), whose journey from USP classrooms to leading Tonga’s primary women-in-tech network demonstrates the power of accessible local education. Credits earned at USP Tonga are fully transferable to the university’s main campuses in Suva and Auckland, offering a seamless path to advanced degrees without uprooting your life.

For women in tech who cannot afford to study overseas or who need to stay close to family, this is the most accessible tertiary pathway in the kingdom. Contact the USP Tonga campus office or visit the USP website for enrolment details. The story of TWICT’s leadership, detailed in the PICISOC profile of the organisation’s rebirth, shows how USP Tonga has consistently produced the talent that drives the kingdom’s tech ecosystem forward.

CERT Tonga

CERT Tonga, the national Computer Emergency Response Team based in Nukuʻalofa, has become one of the most direct pathways for women entering cybersecurity - a field where Tongan women remain underrepresented. Director Siosaia Vaipuna actively recruits TWICT members into the field, framing cybersecurity work as an extension of cultural responsibility rather than just a technical career. He references Margaret Thatcher's line - “if you want something done, ask a woman” - when describing why CERT Tonga prioritises female candidates for its training and internship programmes.

The agency offers free annual training in incident response, ethical hacking, and digital forensics, plus a paid internship programme with a stipend of 500 TOP per month. Graduates of CERT’s pathway frequently move into cybersecurity roles at Tonga Power, the Bank of Tonga, or the Ministry of MEIDECC, where cyber positions pay between 50,000-70,000 TOP - among the highest salary bands in Tonga’s ICT sector. One recent Master of Cybersecurity graduate described the work this way: “Cybersecurity is about protecting our families, our culture... Be the shield for our nation!” This framing resonates deeply in a kingdom where digital resilience is a national priority, reinforced by the partnership between CERT Tonga and TWICT’s Women in Cyber sub-committee.

To get involved, attend CERT Tonga’s open workshops (announced via TWICT’s Facebook page and the TWICT events calendar), or apply directly for the paid internship programme. No prior cybersecurity experience is required for entry-level training - just a willingness to learn and a commitment to protecting Tonga’s digital future.

Pacific Women Lead

Pacific Women Lead (PWL) operates as a AUD 119 million regional initiative with 24 active projects in Tonga as of late 2025. While PWL isn't a single membership group, its funding directly supports women in tech through grants for community tech hubs, digital literacy programs, and leadership training. The initiative's reach is tangible: PWL funds the TWICT Hub's cyber-counselling sub-committee and provides equipment for the weekly training sessions that have become the backbone of Tonga's women-in-tech professional development.

For individual entrepreneurs, PWL's small grants program offers up to 15,000 TOP to support women-led tech initiatives. Past recipients have used the funding to build mobile apps for local farmers, launch women's coding bootcamps, and develop e-government prototypes aligned with Tonga's national digital priorities. PWL also sponsors mentorship exchanges between Tongan women and counterparts in Fiji and Vanuatu, creating a regional web of support that extends far beyond Nuku'alofa. Funding flowing through the Pacific Women Lead Tonga country brief supplies the material resources that make the broader ecosystem function.

To apply, review the current calls for proposals on the PWL Tonga page - the process is competitive but designed for women who understand local challenges and have a concrete plan to address them through technology. This isn't abstract development aid; it's capital that circulates through the kava bowl, funding the next mobile app, the next training session, the next wave of Tongan women leading in tech.

Tonga Women in ICT (TWICT) / CocoNECT

Originally founded as “CocoNECT” (Coconuts Connecting), TWICT has grown from a grassroots social gathering into Tonga’s primary professional network for women in technical roles like network engineering and programming. Based at the TWICT Hub in Nukuʻalofa, the organisation offers free membership with access to weekly virtual training sessions on network security, AI, and virtual machine setup. In 2025-2026, TWICT expanded its “Women in Cyber” sub-committee with CERT Tonga and launched a mentorship programme pairing 40 young women with engineers at Digicel Tonga, Tonga Power, and the Tonga Development Bank.

Members also receive priority registration for the National ICT EXPO and Pacific Girls in ICT Day, plus the chance to apply for the annual CocoNECT Innovation Award - a 5,000 TOP grant for women-led tech initiatives. Co-founders Salise and Courtney Faivaʻilo have described the organisation’s impact in their own words:

“Through TWICT, we discovered the power of resilience, influence, and collaboration.” - Salise and Courtney Faivaʻilo, Founders, CocoNECT

TWICT Director Andrew Toʻimoana actively encourages women to “never hesitate in taking up technical roles like engineering,” a message reinforced through every workshop and job posting the network circulates. To connect, email tw.ict@outlook.com or visit the TWICT website for membership details. The APNIC Blog has profiled how TWICT’s virtual leap has made Tongan women in ICT busier than ever - a testament to a network that keeps the cup moving.

Conclusion

Ranking these ten resources feels almost unnatural - because in Tonga’s women-in-tech community, no one asks “Who is number one?” The real strength lies in the connections between them: TWICT feeds into CERT Tonga’s cybersecurity pipeline, Pacific Women Lead funds the Hub’s equipment, Australia Awards scholars return to mentor the next cohort. The ecosystem thrives not on competition but on circulation, each passing of the bowl making the network stronger.

So when you evaluate these groups, ask the question that matters more than rank: “How does this group share the bowl?” The organisations that pass opportunity along - by funding your startup idea, training you to train others, or connecting you to a job at the Bank of Tonga or Digicel Tonga - are the ones building Tonga’s digital future. Director Siosaia Vaipuna of CERT Tonga put it plainly: “If you want something done, ask a woman.” The proof is in the 24 active PWL projects, the 60 teachers trained by COL, the 30 Girls Who Code participants, and every kava circle where a woman passes a job lead to the person beside her.

The cup is still circling. Take your sip - then pass it on. The tide that lifts all boats is the only tide that matters in the Pacific.

Frequently Asked Questions