The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) weekend officially launched the Women in the Digital Economy Fund (WiDEF) project, aimed at closing the gender digital divide and enhancing business opportunities for women in Northern Nigeria.
The initiative, titled “Addressing Gender Digital Divide and Enhancing Business Opportunities for Women in Northern Nigeria (AGENDA-WIN),” officially commenced in December 2024 and will run for two years.
At a press conference Monday in the Kano office, while addressing journalists about the project, the manager, Zainab Aminu, assured that the project will focus on four northern states, comprising Kano, Jigawa, Bauchi, and Yobe states, while Lagos and Rivers will serve as control states for measuring the impact of the program.
WiDEF is a collaboration between USAID, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Microsoft, the Reliance Foundation, and other strategic partners and is managed by CARE, the Global Digital Inclusion Partnership, and the GSMA Foundation.
Zainab said CITAD’s WiDEF project seeks to address the systemic barriers that prevent women and girls from accessing digital opportunities, which are critical for economic development. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) said globally, there are 244 million fewer women than men using the internet, a disparity that affects their access to education, employment, entrepreneurship, and financial independence.
Zainab added that the AGENDA-WIN project is targeted at focusing on several key activities to empower women, including digital literacy training, economic empowerment initiatives, policy advocacy for gender-inclusive digital policies, community awareness campaigns, and mentorship programs connecting women and girls with successful role models in the tech industry.
She said the need for such a project is critical, as Nigeria’s tech sector remains largely male-dominated, with women occupying less than 20% of tech jobs, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. By increasing women’s participation in the digital economy, CITAD aims to drive economic growth, innovation, and inclusion in Nigeria.
Source: blueprint.ng
