A mentoring programme has been launched to empower girls by equipping them with skills to enhance their career prospects and entrepreneurship in digital marketplace.
The programme dubbed Spark is part of the Tech Women Festival to be held in March to honour top female digital practitioners, innovators and industry leaders. Spark mentorship targets more than 10,000 girls in 2025 from universities and organised youth groups across all counties. They will receive skills and knowledge to help them identify right careers, establish tech start-ups and connect with industry practitioners.
Speaking at the launch in Nairobi, Teki CEO and the Festival Director, Mr Martin Muli, disclosed the climax of the programme will be paring of the Top 25 girls in Digital with the top 25 Women in Digital for support and one-on-one mentorship. The mentees will also go through a 10-module online program with impactful sessions that include leadership, entrepreneurship, career path, and personal brand building.
“The mentoring programme is a key pillar of the Tech Women Festival which brings several players in the digital ecosystem to celebrate milestones and explore policy gaps in tech industry while connecting with peers. The festival to be held next month will also honour Top 25 women trailblazers in digital,” said Muli.
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The programme will focus on encouraging creativity and innovations for digital projects with global impact and offer relevant interventions for the mentees to start and scale up businesses in digital. According to the UNESCO, the UN agency that promotes international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture, there is a significant gender disparity in the tech sector in Kenya, with women holding less than 30% of digital technology positions meaning the majority of tech jobs are held by men.
The gap is attributed to factors like limited access to education and training in Information Communications and Technology (ICT) fields for girls, leading to underrepresentation in tech careers throughout their lives.
Safaricom has been running an outreach programmes for tech students in university to introduce them to the needs and trends of the industry as they seek to establish the foundations necessary to enter the world of work. Safaricom’s Diana Ogeto said the girls will be equipped with skills in emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Data Science and Cyber Security to enable them navigate the digital world.
“The curriculum alone cannot enable female tech students to survive in the current work environment and we have partnered with Teki and other like-minded corporates to foster an ecosystem where young women are not just consumers of technology but also creators, innovators, and leaders,” said Ms Ogeto.
Microsoft Artificial Intelligence National Skills Director, Ms Winnie Karanu, urged public and corporate institutions to take advantage of the rapid developments in technology and adopt flexible working hours for the GenZs and young women to enable them prosper in their careers.
Ms. Karanu said technology offers numerous opportunities for companies to meet their revenue targets even through remote working from home. “For young girls, you need to know your craft, master it well then, focus and always step out of your comfort zones to be able to meet new challenges which come with opportunities for growth,” she said.
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