Microsoft has partnered with non-profit social enterprise Tech4Dev to empower millions of girls and women across Africa with tech and coding skills.
Their Women Techsters Initiative aims for girls and women to acquire digital skills and bridge the digital and technology divide; and ensure equal access to opportunities across the continent. This initiative comes as part of Microsoft Africa’s inclusion plan to train six million people by the end of 2023. It is aimed at girls and women between 16 and 40 years of age, across 54 countries in Africa. The initiative was launched during a virtual roundtable this month on International Women’s Day, hosted by Microsoft Philanthropies and Tech4Dev.
“The overall objective of Women Techsters is to grow and support a community of tech empowered girls and women across the continent, who will have equal access to decent job opportunities; as well as build and scale their ideas into tech-enabled businesses and deep tech start-ups – ultimately aiding overall economic growth,” stated Ghada Khalifa, Regional Director of Microsoft Philanthropies MEA. “When we empower girls and women in the ICT industry through greater access to skills and training, we not only unlock innovation but also economic opportunities.”
EQUIPPING YOUNG WOMEN WITH VITAL SKILLS
Diwura Oladepo, Executive Director at Tech4Dev, pointed out that the initiative aligns with two of the Sustainable Development Goals; to achieve gender equality and decent work and economic growth for women and girls. “Partnering with Microsoft made complete sense when it came to seeking a partner and organisation that has continuously reaffirmed its commitment to digitally transforming communities through upskilling and fostering a knowledge economy,” commented Oladepo.
“Our shared belief that training and empowering young women across Africa will help achieve a male-female ratio balance in the technology space, while providing them with useful skills to build more efficient businesses, or rewarding careers using technology.”
BENEFITS OF EMPOWERING AFRICA’S WOMEN
The training provided through the initiative will focus on technical skills; such as software development, product design, product management, data science and AI engineering and cyber security. It will be delivered through a series of simultaneous activities, through open days, boot camps and master classes to help girls and women across the continent to learn about leveraging technology for career and business growth. The programme has been developed in such a way that participants will not only learn and develop deep technical skills, but can fill knowledge gaps, learn coding skills and jumpstart their careers.
The training will be for three months, supported by a six-month internship and enrolment into a mentorship programme. “Initially, we are launching the initiative in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa and Egypt; and are excited to see how we can live up to our mission of enabling participating girls and women to do more. We know that when women are empowered to fully contribute, society benefits overall,” added Ghada.
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