UK, Cybersafe Empower Over 4,000 Women With Digital Skills

Over 4,000 women who participated in DigiGirls, a project of the CyberSafe Foundation supported by the UK government's Digital Access Programme, graduated on Wednesday.

This was announced in a statement from the Lagos office of the British Deputy High Commission.

According to the commission, the programme also indirectly helped nearly 10,000 additional women through the train-the-trainer programme.

It claimed that the beneficiaries' good livelihood results would be fueled by their employable digital abilities, which would also increase their employment opportunities and get them ready for digital entrepreneurship.

Following a series of exams, the girls were chosen from the 36 federally recognised states, including the Federal Capital Territory.

According to the commission, the DigiGirls programme sought to reduce the gender gap in digital technology that favours men more than women in Nigeria by equipping more women and girls with marketable skills through intense training, mentorship, internships, and placements.

It stated that the programme's learning pathways encompassed data analysis, graphic design, e-commerce, and digital marketing.

The trainees were praised for their accomplishments by Alessandra Lustrati, Head of Digital Development and Global Lead of the Digital Access Programme at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) of the UK government.

“Building digital capacity at a local level and testing digital skills development models that work well with specific target groups, like in the DigiGirls approach is central to FCDO overall effort.

“The digital economy can thrive much more and generate opportunities and skilled job only if we make an effort to close the digital gender gap, which in Nigeria is currently estimated at about 25 per cent.

“The DigiGirls project with our partner CyberSafe Foundation, which is a wider UK Digital Access Programme is a great example of how we can help close that gender gap and drive digital inclusion,” she said.

Confidence Staveley, the founder and executive director of the Cybersafe Foundation, thanked the UK government for its ongoing assistance in making the initiative a success and bettering the lives of the recipients.

“Thanks to the UK government through the FCDO, the DigiGirls programme from inception has now directly empowered over six thousand women with digital skills."

The founder urged the beneficiaries to put their newfound abilities to use.