digital leadership institute

What digital leadership institute does

Digital Leadership Institute (DLI) is a Brussels-based international NGO founded in 2014 that promotes inclusive digital transformation and greater participation of women and girls in ESTEAM (Entrepreneurship and Arts powered by STEM) sectors. The organization delivers a portfolio of education, entrepreneurship, and advocacy programs including the Ada Awards, Move It Forward (200+ women-led startups launched across 25 countries), Cypro (cyber professional training for women), Digital Brusselles (Europe's first female tech incubator), WE4Change, ATHENA (migrant women entrepreneurship), DIGI-EQUAL (digital employment access), AgriGrant Hub, E.C.H.O. (youth civic engagement), and GenSTEMED (STEM gender research). Its technology stack consists of proprietary curricula, training methodologies, and open-source toolkits rather than software products.

Name

digital leadership institute

Legal name

Digital Leadership Institute

Website

https://dlii.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Brussels-based international NGO founded in 2014 that delivers digital skills, ESTEAM education, and entrepreneurship programs targeting women, girls, and migrant communities across 25+ European countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Non-profit Digital Skills Education

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Computer Training (611420)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

STEM, Digital Literacy & Maker Education Nonprofits (BPAGADAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Youth & Young Adult Workforce Programs (Out-of-School Youth) (EDAAAOAD), Technical & Digital Skills Training (BPACANAB), Digital Inclusion & Public Tech Access Training (Device/Internet/Basic IT) (EDAAAFAE)

Keywords

• Digital skills training
• Gender-inclusive education
• Women entrepreneurship programs
• ESTEAM education
• EU project consortiums

Headquarters

HQ city

Brussels

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. EU Project Funding: DLI operates primarily through EU funding programs including Erasmus+, AMIF (Asylum Migration and Integration Fund), Horizon Europe, and other European Commission grants. The organization receives direct program funding for specific initiatives targeting women and girls in digital fields.
2. Project Partnerships: As a consortium partner in multi-year EU projects, DLI receives funding allocations from coordinated project budgets. Projects like ATHENA, WE4Change, DIGI-EQUAL, and AgriGrant Hub provide multi-year funding streams.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Digital Leadership Institute delivers free digital skills training, entrepreneurship bootcamps, and ESTEAM education programs targeting girls, women, migrant women, and youth across Europe. Programs are funded and operated through EU project consortiums (Erasmus+, AMIF, Horizon Europe, UNESCO) and include both flagship offerings (Move It Forward, Cypro, Ada Awards, Digital Brusselles, inQube) and time-limited EU-funded projects (ATHENA, WE4Change, DIGI-EQUAL, E.C.H.O., AgriGrant Hub, GenSTEMED).

Product overview

Digital Leadership Institute is a Brussels-based international NGO focused on inclusive digital transformation and advancing ESTEAM (Entrepreneurship and Arts powered by STEM) leadership for girls and women since 2014. The organization delivers a portfolio of programs including: the Ada Awards recognizing outstanding digital talent; We4Change for environmental changemaking; inQube and Move It Forward for female tech entrepreneurship; Digital Muse for youth STEM networks; Digital Brusselles as Europe's first female tech incubator; Cypro for cybersecurity career placement; ATHENA for migrant women entrepreneurs; DIGI-EQUAL for digital employment access; AgriGrant Hub for agricultural digital skills; E.C.H.O. for youth civic engagement; and GenSTEMED for STEM gender research. These initiatives are delivered through EU funding partnerships and international consortiums across Europe and beyond.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Ada Awards: International awards recognizing outstanding girls and women in digital studies and careers, and the organisations who support them.
• We4Change
• inQube
• Move It Forward
• Digital Muse
• Digital Brusselles
• Cypro

Products and services

• Ada Awards International awards program recognizing outstanding girls and women in digital studies and careers, and the organisations who support them. Includes Digital Girl of the Year, Digital Woman of the Year, and Digital Impact Organisation of the Year categories.
• Move It Forward (MIF) Two-day project-driven entrepreneurship event for teen and adult women of all skill levels to become technology entrepreneurs, including digital skills trainings, project work, pitching, networking, and awards/mentorship.
• Cypro Cyber professional training and career placement program for women with non-technical backgrounds transitioning into IT roles, including on-the-job training, certifications (AWS, Cisco, Oracle), and employment support.
• Digital Brusselles Europe's first female tech incubator supporting women entrepreneurs in Brussels with resources, mentorship, and community for digital ventures.
• inQube Global network promoting women-led, digitally-driven and digitally-enabled enterprises, featuring the Move It Forward flagship program for female digital tech starters.
• Digital Muse European network promoting STEM-powered entrepreneurship and the arts for girls, with a focus on connecting science, technology, engineering, mathematics with entrepreneurship and artistic creativity.
• ATHENA Approaches To valorise the High ENtrepreneuriAl potential of migrant women to contribute to their social and economic integration, funded by the AMIF program and covering five European countries.
• WE4Change Erasmus+ project that aims to contribute to the EU Youth Strategy by empowering young girls and women with digital and innovation skills to have an active role in addressing challenges posed by climate change through changemaking activities.
• DIGI-EQUAL Erasmus+ project promoting equal access to employment in the digital sector for women who have completed or are completing digital training.
• AgriGrant Hub Erasmus+ KA210-VET project supporting farmers across Europe through digital literacy, administrative skills, and awareness of Common Agricultural Policy to access EU funding opportunities.
• E.C.H.O. Erasmus+ youth cooperation project amplifying youth voices for a stronger Europe, promoting youth mobility, trainings, fairs, and youth-led activities with a pan-European platform for engagement.
• GenSTEMED UNESCO Revitalizing STEM Education project on Gender and STEM Education in Romania, increasing knowledge of factors influencing decisions girls and women make about STEM studies and careers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Tens of thousands of girls and women positively impacted across Europe and beyond over 10 years
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Istituto Religioso di Formazione e Istruzione Professionale (Italy)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2026Project partner in the AgriGrant Hub Erasmus+ KA210-VET Small-Scale Partnership supporting farmers through digital skills, along with Türkiye Verimlilik Vakfı.
• Türkiye Verimlilik Vakfı (Türkiye)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2026Project partner in the AgriGrant Hub Erasmus+ KA210-VET Small-Scale Partnership supporting farmers through digital skills in Belgium, Italy, and Türkiye.
• VABCKJS-EU (Austria)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 December 2025Lead partner for the E.C.H.O. project (Amplifying Youth Voices for a Stronger Europe), coordinating a consortium of 9 organizations from 9 European countries to promote youth civic engagement and inclusion.
• WIDE (Luxembourg)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2025Coordinating partner for the DIGI-EQUAL project promoting equal access to employment in the digital sector for women, implemented with IOVA, DIGITALSET, and DLI.
• Coop4Equality ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2025Erasmus+ project focused on fostering gender inclusivity in social entrepreneurship, providing free in-person trainings in Brussels open to the public.
• OnSafe Project ConsortiumminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 January 2023Erasmus+ project focused on equipping young people with knowledge to prevent sexually related online risks, delivering webinars and workshops across Europe.
• W20 (Women20) G20 Engagement GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023DLI Director serves as Head of EU Delegation and contributes to policy recommendations on digital inclusion, entrepreneurship, and skills development to G20 nations.
• Empow'Her (France)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 March 2021WE4Change project partner working to empower girls and young women from disadvantaged backgrounds through digital, leadership, and changemaking skills.
• Chamber of Commerce of Seville (Spain)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Partner in the ATHENA project (Approaches To valorise the High ENtrepreneuriAl potential of migrant women) funded by the EU Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund.
• Stimmuli for Social Change (Greece)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Partner in the WE4Change project 'Girls and Women connecting for environmental change' aiming to foster civic engagement through digital skills and climate activism.
• NOVA onlus Social Cooperative (Italy)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021ATHENA project partner supporting migrant women entrepreneurship across Europe.
• IHK Projecktgesellschaft (Germany)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021ATHENA project partner supporting migrant women entrepreneurship across Europe.
• International School Hermann Oberth (Romania)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Partner in the UNESCO GENSTEMED project on Gender and STEM Education in Romania, hosted final showcase event in Bucharest in February 2025.
• Association for Women in Engineering, Science and Technology (AFIST - Romania)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Partner in the UNESCO GENSTEMED project contributing research on Romanian success stories in promoting gender equity in STEM fields.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• AnitaB.org (Anita Borg Institute): Largest US-headquartered organization advancing women in computing with comparable ESTEAM-style programming, awards, and pipeline-building. Functions as a broader, more resource-rich incumbent with overlapping methodology and audience.
• Girls Who Code: US-based nonprofit closing the gender gap in tech through education and sister programs, with much larger scale and recognition. Comparable in gender-inclusive digital education mission though with K-12 focus vs. DLI's ESTEAM/youth/adult approach.
• Women in Tech (Global): Global nonprofit with chapters in 60+ countries running events, awards, and mentoring for women in tech. Operates a wider geographic footprint with comparable advocacy-and-talent-development mix, though broader scope and more corporate sponsorship.

Direct peers

• WomenTech Network: Global community and awards organization for women in tech; DLI was a 2022 WomenTech Network Global Awards finalist. Operates comparable recognition (Ada Awards vs. WomenTech Awards), events, and community-led engagement for the same target audience.
• Empow'Her: French social-impact organization supporting young women from disadvantaged backgrounds through digital and changemaking skills; active WE4Change project partner of DLI. Same beneficiary segment and methodological approach.
• Stimmuli for Social Change: Greek social-innovation organization and WE4Change partner of DLI, focused on youth empowerment, social entrepreneurship, and changemaker education. Direct co-implementation peer on EU gender-inclusion and youth projects.
• European Centre for Women and Technology (ECWT): Norway-headquartered pan-European network promoting women in technology with comparable mission, EU-policy engagement, and multi-stakeholder consortium delivery model. Direct overlap with DLI's gender-in-tech advocacy and ecosystem-building work.

Emerging players

• Code First Girls: UK-based training provider delivering free/part-subsidized coding courses to women and non-binary people, with corporate partnerships. Comparable audience (women career-transitioning into digital roles) and free-to-user model similar to DLI's Cypro.
• INCO (formerly InCODe / Bossa Nova): International training and inclusion organization that delivers free digital-skills programs for underrepresented groups globally. Closely comparable on free-to-user training model, partner-led delivery, and gender-inclusion focus.

Regional players

• World Pulse: US-headquartered digital platform connecting women changemakers globally with a focus on under-represented voices, similar in community-led and media-amplification approach. More media/community-oriented vs. DLI's training-and-incubation mix.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/dliiorg
• Facebookfacebook.com/dliiorg
• Instagraminstagram.com/digitalleadershipinstitute
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/digital-leadership-institute

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about digital leadership institute