Women in Tech Nigeria, VBank Upskill 1,000 Women to Bridge Gender Skills Gap

Mary Nnah

In alignment with its commitment to tackling the scourge of unemployment by bridging the gender skills gap and helping more women embrace technology, no fewer than 1,000 girls and women from 28 in Nigeria have progressed from the inaugural edition of Women In Tech Nigeria’s Makeathon sponsored by leading digital financial services platform, VBank.

The 1,000 beneficiaries of the maiden edition of the Makeathon initiative took part in a four-month free, capacity-building, digital literacy exercise which began in March 2022 and ended in June 2022.

They were equipped with digital, deep tech, and soft skills including Cybersecurity, Digital Marketing, Data Analytics, Product Management, and Software Programming to build their tech competencies and enable them to contribute to the growth of Nigeria’s tech ecosystem.

The Makeathon initiative goes beyond upskilling girls and women between the ages of 18 to 45 years with requisite tech skills to seeking internship opportunities for them in leading technological organisations in Nigeria and abroad. 

Thus far, more than 10 tech global firms have committed to offering some of the beneficiaries internship opportunities to put their skills to the test.

To provide intensive skills training for the beneficiaries, Women In Tech Nigeria partnered with Cybersafe Foundation, Girl Code Academy, and The Nest Incubation Hub.

Speaking during the graduation event held in Lagos recently, the Country Manager, Women In Tech Nigeria, and Co-Founder, HerVest, Solape Akinpelu said; “We are delighted to help girls and women who have a desire to get into tech roles build their tech competencies in such a short time.

” We are proud of their commitment to learning as it is a testament to their dedication and resolves. We are pleased that we are changing the narratives and have added to the growing number of women equipped with tech skills who can go on to become champions in different sectors.”

In his remarks, the Managing Director, VFD Microfinance Bank (VBank), Gbenga Omolokun said; “We are proud of the graduands and how far they have come to be here today. We are pleased to be associated with an initiative that is committed to bridging skills and economic gender gaps in society. 

“It is inspiring to have women with zero skills in tech come into the space to learn and showcase their talents. We are committed to this initiative and will continue to do this to help more women embrace tech roles.”

Also speaking during the graduation ceremony, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Women In Tech Global, Ayumi Moore said, “These women whom we are celebrating today have been equipped with digital skills they can deploy across sectors. 

“We are proud to have contributed to helping 1,000 women gain employable skills they can use to drive the growth of the tech ecosystem.”

Expressing her fulfillment after her Cybersecurity program, Grace Emmanuel who was hacked multiple times over two years where she lost her savings said; In January 2022, I told a friend that I was going into tech, but I wasn’t sure what career path I wanted. 

“Getting into the Makeathon program was a dream come true as I learned so much about information security, networking, web applications, the fundamentals, and levels of cyber protection. The learning was impactful, and I am grateful for this opportunity.”

Another beneficiary, Okosun Elizabeth who got training in Software Programming said; “When I got the opportunity to learn Software Programming, I was super excited because programming was a course I wanted to learn but couldn’t get the opportunity. 

“At first, I thought I wouldn’t understand the whole magic behind coding but when classes started, coding became a walk in the park. Thank you, Women, In Tech Nigeria and VBank, for this wonderful opportunity.”

Women in Tech® Global is an international organization represented in over 100 countries with a double mission: to close the gender gap and help women embrace technology.

WIT has a mandate to empower 5,000,000 women to play an important part in the ecosystem by 2030, and, as a result, boost the sector. The initiative has a mandate to Create Impact Through Actions to Build Skills & Confidence, Setting Women Up for Success.

To deliver the mandate of upskilling and equipping women to be more contributive to the country’s economic growth, and be more valuable to themselves and their family/society, the initiative majorly focuses on four areas: Education, Social Inclusion, Advocacy, and Business.

The global initiative has set its footprint in 100 Countries on six Continents, building a community of strong women and currently having more than 70,000 women as members.