"In the current digital area, we need to invest in African women and create a diverse, innovative and resourceful workforce ... The time for investment is now!" - Ashish Thakkar, CEO of Mara Group and Chair of the African Development Bank Presidential Youth Advisory Group, PYAG
Sa'adatu Babayo, a beneficiary in the All-female cohort of the Coding for Employment training
Sa'adatu Babayo and Esther Ayuba have more than being female in common: the two are proud participants of the first all-women Coding for Employment class, currently underway in Nigeria as part of a pilot scheme to broaden opportunities for African women.
The month-long classes in basic ICT and other digital skills began March 11th 2019, and are being conducted on two campuses - Gombe State University, Northern Nigeria and Covenant University, in Ogun State Nigeria. Over the course of a month, the 160 women making up this cohort, will study digital literacy, business and entrepreneurship, as well as other skills like presentation and communication skills.
The programme acts as an entry point for Ayuba, Babayo and other young female participants like them, who are keen to find jobs within the growing ICT sector. At the end of the course, participants may continue to a more advanced level or simply use their new skills to enhance their job searches. The scheme also hopes to link up graduates of the class with local SME's for jobs.
"Until this moment, females like me have been side-lined on ICT related matters in this part of the world and country," Ayuba said.
Gombe State University ICT Centre which will host the training
The Bank, together with its partners - The Rockefeller Foundation, Microsoft and Facebook announced the holding of the class in March on International Women's Day, as part of a concerted push to close the gender gap in the representation of women in ICT, and to build a cadre of young digital innovators from the continent, ready to meet the demands of the future.
The Coding For Employment scheme was launched in June 2018 and is expected to give thousands of youth of both sexes, a gateway into the digital field and ultimately employment. After pilot programmes in Nigeria, Kenya and Rwanda, Coding for Employment classes (see boxes below), will expand to two other countries - Senegal and Ivory Coast.
Recent analysis from the Boston Consulting Group states that "digital platforms can make it easier for women to ender the formal workforce and to build their own business."
Coding for Employment is at the centre of the African Development Bank's Jobs for Youth in Africa Initiative, which aims to put Africa's youth on a path to prosperity, with the ambitious target of equipping 50 million youth with employable skills and creating millions of jobs in key industries across Africa.
Engaging young women is a part of the Bank's strategy to give the continent's youthful population tools and opportunities to earn decent and sustainable wages and contribute to the socioeconomic development of their countries.
"I'm super excited that the African Development Bank is launching the all-female cohort class," Ashish Thakkar, Chair of the 8-member Presidential Youth Advisory Group (PYAG), which provides insights and innovative solutions for creating jobs for Africa's youth, tweeted 25 March shortly after the launch of the all-female class.
Nigeria received more than 15,000 applications from men and women for the coding classes, pointing to a hunger within the youth for new opportunities within the ICT field. But for the Bank, this first all- female class sends a strong signal of its commitment to the inclusion of women in economic activity.
"In the current digital area, we need to invest in African women and create a diverse, innovative and resourceful workforce to bolster Africa's competitiveness on the world stage. The time for investment is now!", Thakkar added.
Box 1:
Coding For Employment progress:
"Hour of Code" Gombe, Nigeria December, 2018
A three-day "Hour of Code" campaign was held in Nigeria to celebrate the Global Computer Science Education Week and attended by 607 youth in Northern Nigeria and Lagos.
The hour of code session ran for 3 days11-13th December, 2018 ) at the Gombe State University
directly engaged 545 participants representing 77% of the planned 700 participants (217 female, 483 male).
Selection criteria : low tech skills, targeting female students
female participation was increased in the 1st batch of training by an affirmative action of an all-female cohort to encourage more women to participate.
breakdown of participants per day in the Hour of Code:
Day 1 = 224 participants
Day 2 = 156 participants
Day 3= 175 participants
Box 2:
Coding For Employment Key milestones :
14 university and TVET institution partners identified to host the innovation centers of excellence in Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda, Ivory Coast and Senegal.
The program has secured government buy in in Nigeria, Rwanda and Kenya.
Training of trainers in partnership with Microsoft launched in Nigeria and Kenya with 80 instructors trained in Nigeria and 60 trained in Kenya to deliver the basic ICT skills material.
2,750 applicants shortlisted in Gombe State University from the 15,000 applications
The program is a key partner to the Rwandan government to establish the first of its kind innovative Rwanda Coding School which will train youth to be world class programmers (at TVET level)
Key partnerships with leading private sector firms such as Microsoft, Facebook, LinkedIn and Safaricom to provide training, technical support in site operationalization and link program graduates to employment opportunities.
The official launch event at the Africa Innovation Summit in Kigali, Rwanda attended by over 150 key stakeholders in ICT on the continent
A three-day Masterclass for young women entrepreneurs was held at the Youth Connekt Africa Summit in Kigali, Rwanda attended by 200 youth from 26 African countries
A MoU between the Bank and Safaricom is under review to launch an aggregated online training and talent portal with content from leading tech firms including LinkedIn Learning. This content will ensure the relevance of the trainings in the various country contexts.
