This archive report was first published on 29 December 2021.
Published on December 29, 2021, Huawei Technologies is working to bridge the tech gender gap in Africa by training more women in emerging technologies. The company's Seeds for the Future program has received support from 14 Sub-Saharan Africa governments, including Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, Mauritius, Madagascar, and Malawi, among others.
The program aims to train at least 200 women out of a total of 600 professionals in specialized technologies such as 5G, cloud computing, and Artificial Intelligence. This is seen as a major milestone in increasing the number of girls participating in emerging technologies and helping them get job-ready for the digital economy era.
African governments are playing a key role in the program's success. So far, 25 countries, including South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, and Ghana, have participated in the training, which has benefitted more than 1,000 students. In Kenya, Huawei has trained 120 Kenyans in partnership with the ICT Authority since 2014.
Malawi's President, Lazarus Chakwera, said, "The journey towards the attainment of the smart cities in Africa requires a strong partnership between the public and private sector and companies such as Huawei will play a major role in building this capacity from different dimensions."
Mauritius President Prithvirajsing Roopun added that programs such as Huawei's are critical in building the requisite national ICT talent team and strengthening youth employment capabilities. Uganda's Prime Minister, Robinah Nabbanja, acknowledged the importance of introducing cutting-edge technologies and skills training for women.
Despite the growing demand for ICT skills, the number of women in this space remains low. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) notes that women only make up 17.5 per cent of the tech workforce globally and hold five per cent of leadership positions.
For industry analysts, sub-Saharan Africa is the fastest growing region in the world and will need sufficient ICT talent to successfully manage this transition to a digital economy. According to the Global Association for Mobile Telecommunications Systems (GAMT)'s Mobile Economy in Sub-Saharan Africa 2020 report, ICT technologies remain an important engine that drives countries' development, and mastering of ICT technologies is the engine's key.
