from OKORO CHINEDU in Lagos, Nigeria
Nigeria Bureau
LAGOS, (CAJ News) – MORE than 120 000 women have benefitted from a prime initiative aimed at bridging the vast digital divide in the technology ecosystem in Africa.
The Women Techsters Initiative, is a partnership launched on International Women’s Day 2021 by Microsoft and Tech4Dev.
The partners disclosed the scheme has directly benefited the lives of over 120 298 women across Africa.
The programme spans 22 African countries namely, Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
It has grown to become Africa’s largest women-in-tech tuition-free programme. The programme mainly focuses on teaching coding or software development.
Graduates of the fellowship have gone on to secure jobs at tech companies, launched their technology-driven businesses and become mentors inspiring the next generation of women in tech.
Oladiwura Oladepo, co-founder and Executive Director at Tech4Dev, said the aim was to reach a 50-50 ratio in terms of gender representation in the technology ecosystem.
“I am not satisfied with the status quo, which is why I am striving to make a change,” she said.
She revealed a target of reaching 5 million women across Africa by 2030 and empowering them with technology skills.
– CAJ News