A non-governmental organisation, Mumsbooth, through its Project START empowerment programme, has trained over 200 girls on digital skills geared towards launching them into the tech ecosystem to build their future careers.
The ‘Girls in Tech’ programme with theme; ‘Building Future Innovators’ held both physically and virtually across Nigeria in partnership with Seamfix and GGTV for girls between the ages 10 and 19 years.
The participants were trained on various skills like mobile device fixing, graphics design and use of Canva, data analysis, digital content creation using AI tools, virtual assistant tools, product management and quality assurance.
Founder of Mumsbooth, Mrs Martha Tawiyah, said after the training, several girls would be awarded scholarships to train further and offered internships and mentorship programmes in the organisation to prepare them for job placements.
“As an engineer and tech person, I understand the challenges young girls face transitioning into this space, and how under-represented females are in this field and I am committed to building as many future innovators in girls as possible through our incubation hub,” Tawiyah said.
Parents of a participant expressed gratitude for the programme and promised to support their children.
“It was an incredible opportunity for my daughter to have participated in the Girls in Tech program by Mumsbooth. It was a truly empowering and inspiring experience for my daughter as she was equipped with Tech skills and I am committed to making sure she follows through with other programs,” Mrs Hauwa Rabiu Abubakar a parent said.
The NGO through its ProjectSTART vocational and skills acquisition programme has impacted many Nigerian children and women. Now in its seventh year, the programme has gone beyond Nigeria to other African countries including South Africa, Ghana and Uganda with success stories, benefitting over 15,000 people.
Tawiyah who expressed gratitude over successes recorded over the years, said the program will continue to expand and cover many other places to help people develop in skills that will help them thrive and become independent.