Intel to empower 5m women

The programme that will be anchored through partnership agreement with the Rockefeller Foundation is focused on empowering girls and women to bridge digital divide among women in Africa.The initiative was announced at the just concluded World Economic Forum (WEF), taking place in Nigeria.Speaking about the scheme, the company’s Vice President, Sales and Marketing Group General […]

The programme that will be anchored through partnership agreement with the Rockefeller Foundation is focused on empowering girls and women to bridge digital divide among women in Africa.
The initiative was announced at the just concluded World Economic Forum (WEF), taking place in Nigeria.
Speaking about the scheme, the company’s Vice President, Sales and Marketing Group General Manager, Intel World Ahead Program, John Davies disclosed that the firm believes that when girls and women are connected to the world through technology, they are connected to a world of opportunity.
Making reference to the Women and the Web report, in developing countries, he said 25% fewer women are online than men, and in sub-Saharan Africa, the gap rises to 43%.
Davies explained that it is as a result of this belief, Intel created the Intel ® She Will Connect program to work with an ecosystem of partners to close this gap globally, beginning in Africa. The initiative, he disclosed, strives to halve the digital gender gap in Africa, by empowering five million women through digital literacy programs, with initial pilots in South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria and Zambia.
He said, “Technology in general and the Internet in particular, has transformed the lives of billions of people. It opens up opportunities and possibilities that never could have been realized before. But women and girls are being left behind – which is why we are investing alongside other organizations to close the gap through Intel She Will Connect.”
Mamadou Biteye, Managing Director of the Rockefeller Foundation’s Africa Regional Office said, “We see great alignment between the Rockefeller Foundation’s Digital Jobs Africa initiative and She Will Connect.  We will work together with Intel to connect high potential but disadvantaged young women in our target African countries to online jobs through tools and training that will provide them with best practice guides to assist them in successfully accessing online jobs, earn an income and build their skills and digital work experience.  We will seek out more partnerships with pioneering private sector players who have a shared vision around addressing the youth employment challenge.”