A non-governmental organisation, Techy Train Incubator (TTI) Foundation, has set a target of training one million females in tech and digital Skills by 2026.

A total of 1,664 young women across Africa between the ages of 16 to 30 recently benefitted from the 7th cohort of the Basic Digital Skills Training Programme, which ended on March 31, 2022, ramping up the number of women empowered by the organisation to 7470.

The online training programme had participants pulled from 19 countries including; Botswana, Cameroon, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Lesotho, Liberia, Namibia, Tanzania, the Northern Mariana Islands, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Uganda,  Zambia, and Malaysia amongst others.

The organisers revealed that the 8th Cohort, which would train 333, 340 young women and women across Africa, would commence in July.

The Foundation, through its Tech-Up Girls initiative, in partnership with Isaac Creative, and the W Initiative of Access Bank, had participants being exposed to the world of technology, as well as being guided on how to leverage technology to survive, thrive and be globally relevant.

During the duration of the training, resource persons took participants through the concept of technology and how it can be applied to various areas of everyday life, social media, how to use social media platforms correctly, creating and editing videos, understanding web development, designing a website and how to effectively position themselves for better opportunities.

According to Ms Excellence Anurika Joshua, the Foundation CEO, the program is designed to help girls and women learn and be empowered to earn and work with weekly life-enhancement calls where the intellect area of these women is stimulated.

“The new goal of the foundation is to reach 1 million girls by 2026, and the subsequent cohorts will be operating on this reviewed system and a new goal.

“The programme focuses on women being empowered with relevant digital skills for decent jobs, employability, and entrepreneurship to fulfil SDG 4.4. So far, TTI has trained 7470 girls from over 25 countries, majorly residing in Africa, in the last two years. What we do is beyond tech. It is about African women and girls having their own money! It is about them becoming self-sufficient,” she said.

Although hosting the program has come with a high degree of grit, resilience, and sacrifice from so many people, one thing that stands out is the foundation’s vision to raise self-sufficient women.