Addis Ababa/New York, 21 June 2021 -“One of the best experiences I ever had was to participate in the Coding Camp. It motivated me greatly.” Tasnim Daly from Tunisia, an emerging IT entrepreneur said this with pride during the “Learning Girls in ICT initiative” webinar earlier in April this year. Tasnim was recalling her experiences after participating in the “African Girls Coding Boot Camp” that involved over 300 girls in a hybrid boot camp in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in late 2020.
Joining Tasnim in sharing experiences at the Learning Girls in ICT initiative launch, were female thought leaders in technology such as Angela Lum-neh from Cameroon, Ndeye Fatou Coundoul Thiam of Senegal, Sorene Assefa in South Africa and Kenya’s Chepkemoi Magdalene among others. The African information and communication technology (ICT) champions displayed their various tech-hubs and the digital innovations that they are spearheading in their respective communities across the continent.
Tackling the digital divide remains a major goal for Africa, as it is the key for unleashing the vast untapped innovation potential and creative economy through harnessing the continent’s demographic dividend. Learning Girls in ICT initiative is one among many undertakings in the continent seeking to bridge the digital divide and unlock the knowledge economy for Africa’s development.
“With the lowest rate of Internet penetration, the African region has the widest digital gender gap in the world where only 22.5 per cent of women use the Internet, compared to 33.8 per cent of men.” Jean-Paul Adam the Director, Technology, Climate Change and natural Resources Division (TCND) at ECA says. “This gender gap is growing in some regions across the continent, reinforcing gender inequalities by denying women and girls’ opportunities to access education, find better-paid jobs, and start new businesses.”
According to Adam the “Learning Girls in ICT initiative” is an e-learning web platform that is designed to offer the essential technology education and skills to young women and girls with a view to bridging Africa’s gender digital divide. The initiative is led by ECA and its sister agencies the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), UN Women and bilateral partners.
“Digital skills offer our girls the power to change the world.” Adam says “Digitalization offers a variety of opportunities for female empowerment and for a more equal female participation in labor markets, financial markets, and entrepreneurship.”
It is significant to note that the launch of the “Learning Girls in ICT Initiative” took place exactly a month after the Seventh African Regional Forum for Sustainable Development (ARFSD7) had passed some gallant resolutions in Brazzaville, Congo on Africa’s digital path. The Learning Girls in ICT Initiative serves as one of the successful implementation templates of the ARFSD7 resolutions, which called for the integration of youth alongside the uptake of the digital technologies to leverage and build partnerships to enable people to learn and work anywhere.
Indeed, in the final ARFSD7 conference outcome, inscribed as the “Key Messages and the Brazzaville Declaration” the vital cross cutting role that technology addresses as a key enabler in meeting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Agenda 2063 was recognized. The Forum outcome urged the African Union, United Nations system, regional economic communities and member States to take action to strengthen national capacities to make effective use of innovative technologies and big data when drawing up development policies and priorities. “Countries should increase funds available for science, technology and innovation.” The Key Messages notes.
The digital economy has been identified as one of the drivers of growth for Africa, accounting for 5% of GDP and is projected to increase to 8.5% by 2050, which translates into USD712 billion in monetary terms of the continent’s GDP. Digital technologies serve as catalysts for development and industrialization, capitalizing on the opportunities afforded by the African Continental Free Trade Area. These are among the messages that Africa is taking to the 2021 UN High Level Political Forum.
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Issued by:
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Economic Commission for Africa
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Ethiopia
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