By Prince Osuagwu

THE Association of Information and Communications Technology women practitioners, under the aegis of Women in Technology in Nigeria, WITIN, has unfolded plans to rally support for women in the rural areas where business has no global presence.

The group said it would create web presence for such women to enable their wares, business and service receive global attention.

According to the group, rural women contribute critically to household production, National food security and agricultural development in general.  However, most of these women are plagued by poverty, illiteracy, language barrier as well lack of infrastructures, much as they also face problems of market access and low prices for their products.

Unfolding the plans to news men in Lagos, the group’s Chairperson, Mrs Martha Omoekpen Alade noted that linking rural women closely to the global market will tackle some of these challenges and go a long way to empower these women economically and socially.

Alade said that when a woman in a remote village in Jos, for instance, finds market for her handicraft in Lagos city, through the internet, her life would not only change but she would also appreciate the technology more.

“ICT today is more than ever playing a crucial role in empowering women thus serving as key engine for family stability and financial freedom. This is because of its global coverage, mobility and capacity to be deployed placelessly. With an increasing number of families across the nation depending on the income of the woman, it becomes pertinent to say that an empowered woman is an empowered nation”, she added.

To put action to its words, the group has developed a project tagged Grassroots Women Empowerment Through ICT (GWEIT). The GWEIT project harnesses ICT as a tool to empower women by promoting their businesses on the internet and on mobile phones so as to increase their revenue.

The  GWEIT  is  designed  to  provide online presence  for  women  businesses  and  also create a business directory for their businesses. Thus bringing their products to the limelight, encouraging patronage from the elitist community and increasing revenue. Alade said her group packaged GWEIT for the marginalized women, including those in rural areas, the peasants, small business owners, the physically challenged, illiterate business women and those living in under-served communities.