55 female trainees have graduated from a digital training offered by Huawei Digitruck, in partnership with Women in Technology Huawei (WITH) in Garba Tula, Isiolo County. These trainees are part of the 150 young community health volunteers who will be receiving digital skills training over the course of the next one month.
During her speech, the Ministry of ICT, Innovation and Youth Affairs CAS Nadia Abdallah said, “Technology plays an integral part of our everyday life. It facilitates the implementation of applications and solutions that continue to improve the quality of life and reduce equality gaps both locally, and across the globe. However, to the marginalized, the lack of digital skills has been identified as one of the key barriers to the adoption of technology. The Huawei Digitruck seeks to address this gap by making digital skills accessible to those in need, thereby exposing them to the various opportunities that technology presents.”
Isiolo Deputy County Commissioner, Mr. Stephen Nyakundi applauded Huawei for having the Digitruck at the county. He added that the community would gain by having its beneficiaries create employment opportunities. He reiterated that the county would continue to support such initiatives.
Since its launch, the Digitruck has visited over 10 counties and trained over 2000 beneficiaries from across the country. The Huawei Digitruck continues to partner with various stakeholders to not only scale the program but also increase the pool of resources offered during training. The partnership with the Ministry of ICT, Innovation and Youth Affairs allows trainees to utilize the resources available under the Ajira Digital program.
WITH director, Maureen Mwaniki, noted that an increase in the number of women being empowered with digital and soft skills will yield greater opportunities for them in the digital world. She noted that this would be especially so for those coming from marginalized communities, notwithstanding the COVID-19 challenges experienced globally. She added that this being the first-ever graduation held solely for women only, shows Huawei’s efforts in empowering women from disadvantaged communities.
The Women In Technology Huawei program, launched in 2019, aims to directly empower, connect and support girls and women in STEM by 2022 through mentorship and training.