The Mastercard Foundation and tech skills training provider ALX have partnered to offer 50 000 women across Africa a fully-sponsored software engineering training programme.

According to a statement, the all-female programme − run in light of March being International Women’s Month − will enable women across Africa to be at the helm of the global technology revolution.

The partners say the initiative will equip these women with employable skills to enter high-growth career paths in the global digital economy.

It forms part of ALX’s goal to help bridge the digital gender divide on the continent, increase the representation of women in the industry, drive participation of females in the digital economy and create solutions for a diverse world.

The tech training provider says it has enrolled over 100 000 learners across 54 African countries, with its eight core markets being SA, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda, Egypt, Ethiopia and Morocco.

The new programme forms part of ALX’s WomXn and Tech project to address the global skills gap, and was inspired by the United Nations Women theme of “DigitALL: innovation and technology for gender equality”, for International Women’s Day, which takes place today.

It will provide a launchpad for ALX to launch the participants’ careers in one of the most in-demand fields in the world, says the organisation.

“The exclusively female software engineering cohort we are introducing helps to reduce this significant divide and empower women with the skills necessary to become software engineers,” says Vatiswa Gilivane, activations manager at ALX South Africa.

“It is about encouraging young women in South Africa to embrace technology as a future career path. The investment ALX is making in this cohort reflects the potential we see in the country, and provides a dynamic environment for women to see STEM [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] as something they can be part of.”

According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2021, South Africa ranks 18th out of 156 countries when it comes to the gender gap. At face value, this might seem positive, but the reality is that the country features very poorly (69th) when it comes to educational attainment and economic participation and opportunity (92nd), says ALX.

With 50% of technology users being women, they must become more involved in the engineering process, it notes.

No prior experience or background in IT is required to apply for the free software engineering training programme.

Applications for the ALX cohort close on 15 March. The cohort will start on 27 March.

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Software engineering training targets 50K African women | ITWeb