Girl Geek Academy

What Girl Geek Academy does

Girl Geek Academy is a Melbourne-based social enterprise founded in 2014 with a stated mission of bringing one million women and girls into technology careers by 2030. It operates a portfolio of free educational programs targeting women, girls, and non-binary participants across age cohorts — including SheHacksSwift (a high-school work-experience program scheduled to expand from Melbourne to Sydney), AI High (free AI literacy workshops sponsored by the Telstra Foundation), and the historically significant SheHacks, billed as the world's first all-women hackathon. The organization also sells retail products (Girl Geeks Book Series at $49.95 and Girl Geek Beanies at $29) and operates a published book line for ages 7-12, extending its funnel into primary-school audiences.

The organization's revenue mechanics combine three streams: small-scale product sales, government grants and tender-based consulting, and corporate sponsorship. Historical funding includes a $1M commitment from Go1 and a $300,000 grant from LaunchVic in 2017, and a March 2025 grant from the Australian Department of Employment and Workplace Relations. The current flagship AI High program is supported by the Telstra Foundation. The team is small — between 1 and 10 employees — led by CEO and founder Sarah Moran alongside co-founders Lisy Kane, April Staines, Amanda Watts, Leura Smith, and Cherie Tan.

Girl Geek Academy has positioned itself as a policy and ecosystem stakeholder in the Australian women-in-tech space, including submitting evidence to the 2023 Australian Senate Diversity in STEM review. Its go-to-market is community- and partnership-driven rather than commercial, and it does not disclose revenue, headcount growth metrics, or pricing for its institutional programs. The core technology consists of curriculum content and program delivery infrastructure, with AI featured as a teaching subject rather than as a proprietary product capability.

Name

Girl Geek Academy

Legal name

Girl Geek Academy

Website

https://girlgeekacademy.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Girl Geek Academy is a Melbourne-based social enterprise founded in 2014 that delivers free technology and AI literacy programs — including hackathons, high-school work experience, and online workshops — to women, girls, and non-binary participants across Australia, funded by grants and corporate sponsorships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

STEM Education Services

NAICS

All Other Schools and Instruction (61169), Computer Training (61142)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Robotics & Engineering Summer Camps / Bootcamps (EDAMADAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Robotics, Engineering & Makers Camps (EDAMALAE), AI & Machine Learning (Foundations & Applied) (EDAMACAG)

Keywords

• STEM education programs
• Women in technology
• Coding workshops
• Hackathon events
• Gender equality consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Melbourne

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Product sales (books and branded accessories): One-time e-commerce sales through the company's own online storefront, including the Girl Geeks book series (4-book boxed set) and branded accessories such as the Girl Geek Beanie. Payments processed via Stripe.
2. Educational workshops and remote learning programs: Free online programs for participants (AI High, #SheHacksSwift) supported by sponsors and partners; in-person workshops are run in Sydney and Melbourne. Revenue is generated indirectly via sponsorships and grants rather than participant fees.
3. Corporate and government grants, tenders, and consulting: Revenue from large government grants and tenders, corporate clients, and expert 'Girl Geek' consultancy to organisations seeking help tackling gender-equality challenges. Used to sustain programs and operations.
4. Corporate sponsorship / foundation funding: Sponsored programs such as AI High, which is supported by the Telstra Foundation. Sponsorship underwrites free educational delivery to participants.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Girl Geek Academy is an Australian social enterprise that delivers free educational workshops and programs (such as AI High and SheHacksSwift) teaching coding, AI, game development, Swift app development, 3D printing, and other tech skills to women and girls. It also sells branded merchandise including a children's book series and accessories, and offers expert gender-equality consultancy to corporates, government, and schools.

Product overview

Girl Geek Academy operates a social-enterprise educational program portfolio rather than a unified SaaS platform. Its core offering consists of educational programs and workshops (AI High and SheHacksSwift) that teach technology skills to high school girls and gender-diverse students, complemented by a merchandise line (the Girl Geek Beanie) and a children's book series (Girl Geeks: Book Series) sold through an online shop. AI High (free online AI/games/coding workshops sponsored by the Telstra Foundation) and SheHacksSwift (free high-school work experience building Apple-device apps) function as the flagship program modules, while the Girl Geek Beanie and the Girl Geeks book series are revenue-generating retail products supporting the social enterprise mission.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AI High: A series of free online weekly workshops for Australian high school girls and gender-diverse students covering AI, games, digital art, programming, 3D modelling, and related tech topics. Sponsored by the Telstra Foundation.
• SheHacksSwift
• Girl Geeks Book Series

Products and services

• AI High A free series of online workshops for Australian high school girls and gender-diverse students, exploring a new tech topic each week (games, digital art, programming, 3D modelling, chatbots, AI) and supported by a member-only moderated forum.
• SheHacksSwift A free high-school work experience program in which participants learn to design and develop apps for Apple devices using the Swift programming language, run in Sydney CBD and Melbourne CBD during school holidays.
• Girl Geeks: Book Series (4 Books) A boxed set of four fiction books written for girls aged 7-12, following four characters through tech-themed adventures such as a hackathon, designed to encourage interest in gaming, coding, and STEM.
• Girl Geek Beanie The official Girl Geek Academy branded beanie, sold as part of the accessories range on the Girl Geek Academy online shop for AUD $29.00.
• Girl Geek Consultancy Expert 'Girl Geek' consultancy, campaign collaborations, classes, hackathons and remote-learning programs delivered to corporates, government, schools, and the tech community seeking to advance gender-equality goals.

Quantifiable outcome

• Ran the world's first all-women hackathon in 2014
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability4 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Alex Milescore content partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlex Miles is the author of the Girl Geeks 4-book boxed series, written in partnership with Girl Geek Academy. Based in Melbourne, Miles has also written in the Zac Power series and other children's books.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Girls Who Code: US-based nonprofit running free coding clubs, summer programs, and college-looping programs for girls and non-binary students. Closest direct peer to Girl Geek Academy's K-12/high-school tech-education mission, with a comparable community + curriculum model.
• Black Girls CODE: US nonprofit running workshops, hackathons, and after-school programs for girls of color in technology. Highly comparable operating model (community-led workshops, hackathons, sponsored programs) and similar demographic-of-focus as Girl Geek Academy.
• Women Who Code: Global nonprofit community for women in tech, offering free study groups, events, and networking. Directly comparable as a free, community-led movement supporting women in tech careers, similar to Girl Geek Academy's adult-facing programs.
• Technovation: Global nonprofit running app-building and AI programs for girls, including a flagship entrepreneurship competition. Closely comparable to Girl Geek Academy's #SheHacksSwift and AI High programs, both targeting school-aged girls learning to build apps and tech products.
• Code First Girls: UK-based social enterprise providing free coding courses and a community for women, with significant corporate and government sponsorship. Direct peer in mission, free-to-participant model, and sponsorship-driven economics; differs mainly by geography.
• AnitaB.org: Global nonprofit advancing women in technology through programs, events (Grace Hopper Celebration), and community. Comparable in mission scope and advocacy-led positioning, though much larger scale than Girl Geek Academy.

Emerging players

• SheCodes: For-profit coding education company offering women-focused programming workshops and a paid online coding certificate. Comparable audience and curriculum focus; differs in operating model (paid certificates vs. Girl Geek Academy's free, grant-funded workshops).
• NCWIT (National Center for Women & Information Technology): US-based nonprofit alliance working to increase women's participation in computing through advocacy, research, and programs. Comparable in STEM-diversity advocacy and policy engagement (similar to Girl Geek Academy's submission to Australia's Diversity in STEM review).
• Mothercoders: Smaller nonprofit running free coding education programs specifically for mothers and women re-entering tech. Comparable as a niche women-in-tech education provider but with a more focused adult/career-re-entry audience than Girl Geek Academy's K-12 emphasis.

Broad incumbents

• Code.org: Large US-based nonprofit focused on expanding access to computer science in K-12 schools globally, including targeted programs for girls and underrepresented students. Comparable in K-12 CS education focus but much larger scale; an incumbent in the broader space Girl Geek Academy operates in.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/GirlGeekAcademy
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/girlgeekacademy
• Facebookfacebook.com/girlgeekacademy
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/girl-geek-academy
• Instagraminstagram.com/girlgeekacademy

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Girl Geek Academy