5 000 women to undergo ICT training

Herald Reporter

MORE than 5 000 women will undergo Information and Communication Technology training workshops across the country, with 1 000 already graduated.

The workshops are meant to empower women with ICT literacy skills to bridge the gap between rural dwellers and urbanites.

At least 300 women from Mashonaland West, 315 from Mashonaland Central and 400 from Midlands provinces have completed their training programmes.

The initiative is being spearheaded by a local organisation, Concord Young Women in Business Global.

The ICTs training is part of the organisation’s efforts towards enhancing learning and raising women’s knowledge levels, empowering them to make informed decisions.

The training is for free.

Speaking at a workshop at Mkoba Stadium, Gweru last week, president of the organisation, Ms Apphia Musavengana, said Vision 2030 could only be achieved if women were fully involved in key sectors of the economy, including ICT.

The organisation has footprints in all the country’s 10 provinces with their next workshop set to be held in Manicaland.

Ms Musavengana implored women to grab economic empowerment opportunities presented by the Second Republic.

“The initiative was a manifestation that women are awakening to the fact that the fast paced world we live in today has no place for technophobes,” she said.

“A further probe into what is giving women the pressure to acquire technological skills revealed that computer skills are now a prerequisite if one is to secure formal employment.”

Many opportunities lay within the Internet such as information on scholarships, business opportunities, online studies and distance learning options.

Technological changes the world over had become intertwined with how societies ran social, economic and political lives.

“The Second Republic under the stewardship of President Mnangagwa has opened doors for women to participate in various economic spheres,” said Ms Musavengana.

“Those with skills can get loans from the Zimbabwe Women’s Microfinance Bank. We will assist those with skills to secure loans from the bank to start their own businesses.

“Those who excel during the training workshops will be given starter packs to start their own ICT business.”

The organisation had lined up a number of empowerment projects, including ICT initiatives, that have become so critical to the ever-changing modern world.