Sadiya is a passionate advocate for education and women’s economic and leadership empowerment in Africa. As the Founder of the WeCan Africa Initiative in 2018, she has been dedicated to providing basic education to children in rural and hard-to-reach communities, while also offering vocational and leadership skills training to young people, especially girls. Her goal is to address the challenges of limited access to education for rural children and the economic and leadership empowerment of girls, thereby combating various forms of marginalization and fostering better decision-making.

Since 2021, Sadiya has collaborated with diverse teams and stakeholders across seven nations to develop and implement digital skills and leadership training programs, as well as internships, benefiting girls in five African countries.

Currently, Sadiya Murtala is a Mastercard Foundation Scholar at the University of Edinburgh, where she is pursuing studies in M.Sc. Africa and International Development. Her current focus lies in widening education curricula from early years education, incorporating skills and technical competence in education. She believes this may lead to better economic empowerment and opportunities for young people and produce more capable youth who are able to champion/advocate for better access to quality education for children in rural communities as well as advocate for better government policies and programs. She believes that for development to happen, we need to better invest in and prepare the youths adequately.