Browsing: Women in Tech

CyberSafe
  • The demand for cybersecurity skills in Africa has increased by 35% over the past year.
  • Africa has a significant digital skills gap, which could create 650 million training opportunities and a $130 billion market by 2030.
  • An increasing number of companies are working to develop programs to reduce the IT skills gap on the continent.

Over the past few years, Africa is facing a significant digital skills gap, which is stunting growth of economies for the majority of the continent’s nations. 

A study by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) indicates that by 2030, about 230 million jobs across the continent will require some level of digital skills. These opportunities have the potential of giving rise to 650 million training opportunities and an estimated $130 billion market.

To harness the emerging opportunities, an increasing number of local and international firms are developing programs to help reduce the IT skills gap on

  • E-commerce is supporting women’s entry to and success in the digital economy and helping to compete in sectors like electronics where they are typically underrepresented
  • The growth of e-commerce in countries such as Kenya represents an opportunity to close gender gaps by opening more markets to women-owned businesses 
  • By bridging the wide gap of access to digital and financial inclusion, more women would be able to list their businesses on e-commerce platforms and allowing them to grow

The ongoing expansion of Kenya’s digital economy has the potential of creating opportunities for countless Kenyan women to make a livelihood, especially in the e-commerce space.

A finding by the International Financial Corporation observed that the growth of e-commerce in countries such as Kenya represents an opportunity to close gender gaps by opening more markets to women-owned businesses.

It further noted that while there is a higher incidence of women entrepreneurs compared to …

Each year, the programme supports ten small and medium Kenyan female-led entrepreneurial businesses by offering mentorship, advisory, coaching, networking opportunities, access to seed capital and investor forums that help mould their businesses to international standards.

The mentorship takes 12 weeks where the teams are offered expert training in the areas of business idea conceptualization, strategy formulation and marketing, which is key in moving the businesses from incubation to sustainable ventures.

The ten businesses shortlisted from more than 300 applications will compete for up to Ksh1 million in seed funding. Since its inception, 30 start-ups have participated, 15 have been awarded Ksh1 million each in seed funding, and 41 businesses have so far gone through the incubation process, with the first four cohorts attracting 1,150 applications.…

A report by The Women in Tech Africa Summit 2019 showed that despite receiving 50 per cent less venture capital funding, global technology firms led by female entrepreneurs typically achieve a 35 per cent higher return on investment than those managed by men.

In the first half of 2021, African startups raised US$1.19 billion. However, female CEOs raised just 14 per cent of the financing, up from 2 per cent for the same period in 2020.

The African Development Bank puts the funding gap for women entrepreneurs in Africa at US$42 billion.

This should encourage more investors to take a gamble on women-led businesses in Africa’s tech space as they offer promising returns. 

Women in tech on the continent not only drive significant development in the African tech space, but they also simultaneously inspire young girls venturing into tech across the continent to do the same. …