Aware of the under representation of women in viable careers and sectors, the Federal Government of Nigeria, has launched a gender based budgeting initiative known as the Growing Girls and Women in Nigeria (GWIN), to drive the economic and social inclusion of the female population of Nigeria.

GWIN is being implemented through a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministries of Finance, Communication Technology, Agriculture, Water Resources, Health, Works and Women Affairs. Each Ministry receives extra-budgetary finance to develop and/or expand initiatives that catalyse the potential of Nigerian women.

The Ministry of Communication Technology, is empowering women and girls through specific technology initiatives.

These initiatives include the-ICT Girls Clubs, collaboration with a private sector IT entity to train 1000 girls, and the SmartWoman Nigeria project.

Minister of  Communication Technology, Mrs Omobola Johnson said that considering that women and girls make up approximately 50% of Nigeria’s population, the Federal Government’s intervention is geared at empowering women both socially and economically via ICTs with a view to reducing the technology gender divide.

But after a close monitoring of the 10th batch of the training session of about fifty girls in ICT training last week at the Huawei’s office in Lagos, there were convincing signals that the capacity building program would unlock girls’ potentials through Information Communication Technology.

The three day training programme for 50 girls per session is part of the ongoing training of 1,000 girls in ICT, a capacity building program launched late last year by the Federal Ministry of Communication Technology in partnership with Huawei, a global leader in Information Communication Technology to empower girls with ICT skills, improve their employability thereby increasing their interest in pursuing careers in ICT.

Commenting on the programme, the Vice- President of Huawei West Africa, Mr. Hover Gao said that about 200 top participants out of the 1,000 girls will get further training for the attainment of a certification as Huawei Certified Datacom Associate (HCDA). He added that top achievers with Huawei HCDA certification will have the priority-access to be employed by Huawei.

At the launch of the 1000 ICT Girls training last year, Mrs Omobola Johnson had said 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 businesses.

According to her, ICT also has the potential to significantly contribute to increasing the social welfare of women.

Meanwhile, the International Telecommunication Union, ITU, has applauded Nigeria for this initiative, saying that the training when fully completed would correct the imbalance in ICT adoption and appropriation among men and women.

ITU estimates a skill shortfall of over 2 million ICT jobs in the coming years, but quickly added that girls and young women who learn coding, apps development and computer science will be well-placed to enter a career in ICTs, leading to their economic empowerment.

Some of the beneficiaries of the programme who spoke to Hi-Tech expressed confidence that with the quality of training they were receiving, the women would soon give men a run for their place in ICT.

One of them, a student of Urban and Regional Panning from the University of Lagos, Oladimeji Omobolariwa, stated that “this training really opened my eyes. It has exposed me to the basics ICTs especially on telecommunication and networking. The training is beyond basic computer appreciation. I thank the Communications Technology ministry and Huawei for giving me the opportunity for this training. The training will give me an edge over my colleagues. It is time girls get involved in ICTs, it should not be for men alone”

Another beneficiary of the training, Olowolede Iretiola, corroborated the earlier speaker, adding that “the training is a step in the right direction. It has really exposed me to the basic knowledge on telecommunication, GSM, computer appreciation. The training has made me to be digitally included. I thank the Federal Government and Huawei for this opportunity. I urge every Nigerian girl to be part of digital inclusion in the knowledge economy. It is a way to leverage on the opportunities in ICTs” she added. One of the tutors for the training, Umar Biliyaminu said that the training will prepare the participants for global competitiveness.