Promising Initiatives for Inclusive Digital Transformation: ACWICT’s Impactful Programmes

Established in 2001, The African Centre for Women, Information and Communications Technology (ACWICT) is a Kenya-based ICT for Development (ICT4D) Organisation. With a regional reach, our mission is to promote women and youth’s access to and knowledge of ICTs as tools for sustainable development. Our vision is a world where all people, women, and men have equal opportunities to access and use information for their social, economic, and political advancement. We focus on high-potential but disadvantaged women and youth including marginalised, vulnerable, and underserved women from urban informal settlements and rural communities.

By equipping young women and girls with digital competencies, we empower them economically, promote gender equality, and drive positive change in their communities. This is particularly important in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which worsened the living conditions of the most vulnerable, particularly women and girls in informal settlements and rural areas. With over 50 training centres countrywide (leveraging on TVETs, CBOs) and a job placement rate of over 70%, we have been able to provide solutions to over 350,000 young women and youth with positive impact to-date that has improved their access to employment, education, health, and leadership opportunities.

Thanks to our established country-wide presence and our depth of expertise in promoting digital access and providing digital skills for women and girls, ACWICT was well-placed to implement Skills for Prosperity (S4P) Kenya, an FCDO-funded programme focusing on improving the equity, quality, and relevance of higher education and technical vocational education and training (TVET) in Kenya. In particular, the S4P Kenya programme targets 400 women, low-income youth, and persons with disabilities, aiming to enhance skill levels, employment rates, and productivity.

“I had just gotten a temporary job at a gas station, earning very little before I saw the posters for this programme. My husband was reluctant to let me take time to participate. He told me how can I go to learn when I’ve finally just gotten something to do? But my instincts directed me that this opportunity will be very promising, so I had to make him understand and luckily he did, and I took up the training.” ~Nabiyo Fridah, a beneficiary of the programme

As the UK-funded Girls Education Challenge (GEC) programme concludes in Kenya, ACWICT’s Skills for Prosperity programme complements its efforts by providing marginalised women and girls, especially in Turkana County, with technical skills and tertiary education opportunities. The programme focuses on the digital and green economy sectors, equipping women and girls with high-quality and market-driven ICT and Solar Technology and Installation training. The project was implemented through partnerships and collaboration with the County Government of Turkana, Vocational Training Institutes in Turkana County, the private sector, community-based organizations (CBOs), industry players, and employers to deliver high-quality and market-driven ICT and Solar Technology and Installation training. In addition, the project provides life skills, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy skills to support the development, management, and growth of women-owned businesses in the ICT sector and in the solar technologies value chain, including sales and distributorship.

Finally, the project will link the 300 young women trained to decent and sustainable jobs and/or entrepreneurial business opportunities while providing gender-focused advisory services to selected ICT and Solar Technologies employers to improve their HR systems and processes to hire and retain marginalised women and girls.

Jenifer secured placement as a board teacher after learning digital skills at the Bishop Mahon VTC. She did not have any prior basic knowledge of computers. She is actively using the skills she learned to onboard learners’ marks in high school to the Zeraki analytics. Among her roles as a tech-savvy teacher is the role to upload students’ grades using a mobile phone, laptop or desktop PC for the tabulation of performance breakdown for each student, subject or stream and further message the parents to track their children’s performance and fee payment. Currently, teachers in St. Monica Girls high school no longer struggle with manual data processing to produce report forms and grading students. The activity can be worked on from home. ~ Jenifer Aipa Lorot’s story

By linking training with decent and sustainable job placements, the programme has been able to train 513 marginalised women and girls, with 504 completing the training, against the project target of 400.

ACWICT’s Recipe for Bridging the Digital Divide

Throughout the years we have been testing several solutions and practices to bridge the digital divide and we identified a few fundamental and replicable ones, including:

1. Needs Assessment: Conducting thorough needs assessments to identify specific challenges and skill gaps in target communities. This approach ensures programme relevance and addresses the unique needs of the beneficiaries. A baseline for training needs and identification of VTIs to participate in the project was done and one of the key criteria of the VTIs was accessibility of the centre by persons with disabilities.
2. Tailored Training Programmes: Designing a Digital skills and Solar Installation coupled with Digital Freelancing training programme that was tailored to the specific needs of marginalised young women and girls in Turkana. The S4P programme focused on market-driven digital skills, ensuring participants are equipped with the right tools for employment and entrepreneurship.
3. Safeguarding: To accommodate household commitments, training sessions for young women were delivered in half-day sessions. In Turkana, as part of the S4P programme, baby/childcare services were provided so that mothers could attend classes, and expectant mothers were offered light meals to support their health during the training. Beneficiaries travelling from remote areas were also given transportation support to attend the sessions.
4. Holistic Approach: Our training approach integrates various components to provide a holistic learning experience. It includes an online learning platform called ACWICTS4E, where beneficiaries can take assessments and access over 50 courses for continuous upskilling. Interactive workshops with trainers, mentoring, and psycho-social support are also provided. Practical projects, such as solar installation exercises, are incorporated to enhance technical skills.
5. Partnerships: Partnerships enable ACWICT to reach underserved communities and maximise the impact of its initiatives. We collaborate with the County government in Turkana, corporate organisations for employment opportunities, and learning institutions specifically 9 Vocational Training Centres (VTIs) to deliver the training programmes.
6. Connectivity: We focus on providing internet connectivity for our beneficiaries to be able to effectively participate. In Turkana we leverage Community Networks providing affordable last-mile connectivity to the VTCs to ease connectivity challenges.

ACWICT’s initiatives and programmes play a vital role in bridging the digital divide and empowering women and youth in Kenya. Through needs assessments, tailored training programmes, holistic approaches, and strategic partnerships, ACWICT demonstrates a commitment to creating inclusive digital opportunities. Through the Skills for Prosperity programme, we have been able to provide high-quality and market-driven ICT and Solar Technology and Installation training, increased access to ICT resources, and continuously facilitating employment and entrepreneurship opportunities to the marginalized women and girls in Turkana County.

What if ACWICT’s promising initiatives and best practices serve as an inspiration for organizations and individuals committed to bridging the digital divide and creating a more equitable and prosperous world for all? Will you be part of that change?

This blog post was written by the Communications team at ACWICT.