The ministry also launched the SmartWoman Nigeria initiative in collaboration with US based social enterprise ChangeCorp and WIMBIZ same day in Lagos. The launch of the gender initiatives was expected to help empower Nigerian women and girls in ICT.
About 1,000 female students would benefit from the Girls in ICT training, which is a one year duration programme that commenced same day in Huawei’s ICT Training Centre in Lagos.
The training programme was aimed at empowering Nigerian female students with ICT skills and knowledge in the knowledge economy.
Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson, who addressed IT Journalists during the launching of both initiatives said it was time the imbalance in ICT adoption and appropriation among men and women was removed.
The Minister emphasised that ICT has the transforming power to accelerate the development of women by helping them to be more efficient and effective in their jobs, careers, and business and to generate new employment opportunities.
According to the Minister, ICT has unlimited potential to significantly contribute to increasing the social welfare of women and pledged that the ministry was committed to empowering women and girls to embrace ICTs to actualise their potentials and contribute to the economic development of Nigeria through various specific technology initiatives.
The launch of the 1000 girls training programme is part of Huawei’s strong corporate social responsibility to the Nigerian society and in solidarity with female students who are willing to explore their careers in ICT industry across the country.
Vice President of Huawei West Africa, Mr. Hover Gao, said: “The programme is part of Huawei’s commitment of localisation, technology transfer to Nigeria and employment promotion. Huawei is the first ICT solutions provider to establish an ICT training centre in Abuja back in 2004 and since then the training centre has provided more than 5,000 opportunities to ICT practitioners."
He added: “Huawei and the ministry's orientation programme on ICT Basic Knowledge for female students is not a one time off event. On the contrary, Huawei and the ministry will develop this campaign into a long-term project. The training also enables us to create an ICT talents pool and some of the trainees will become Huawei employees.”
The SmartWoman initiative seeks to promote the development of women in Nigeria by harnessing the power of mobile communication tools provided by Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs).
The initiative, which featured at the first meeting of the Broadband Commission for Digital Development Working Group on Gender in Mexico City of which the Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson is a member, was targeted at low- to middle-income urban and high-income rural women business owners. It offers learning in communication skills, banking, financial, health, and family work/life balance issues.
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