Female graduate students from different varsities across Kenya are set to benefit from a new programme launched by Microsoft 4Afrika initiative, in partnership with the African Centre for Women in Information and Communications Technology (ACWICT).
The programme, dubbed EmployMentor, has been introduced with efforts to help female graduates start their careers by venturing into business and technology fields and also to promote skills development.
Introduced to benefit over 150 female graduates from 24 Universities in the country, EmployMentor programme will consist of one-on-one Skype sessions and on-the-field EmployMentor week training.
EmployMentor week will engage participants in mock interviews and business case challenges with financial modelling training, while the Skype component is meant to provide information knowledge for 20 of the mentees for a period of eight months.
Kunle Awosika, the country manager at Microsoft Kenya said, “Unemployment is a challenge for many youth and initiatives such as EmployMentor can bridge the skills gab between academia and the working world.”
Awosika added that 4Afrika initiative is a way for Microsoft to participate in the evolution of Africa from a labour-based economy to a knowledge economy through empowering local innovation, providing internet access and up-skilling youth with latest ICT skills.
The program seeks to cater for women who are underrepresented in various fields that drive the country’s innovation, connectedness and competitiveness in global markets such as science, technology and engineering.
“The future of ICT sector is exciting. These are unchartered waters open to creativity, innovation and entirely new ways of interacting and learning that should appeal to women and men alike,” said Constantine Obuya, executive director at ACWICT.
Microsoft 4Afrika initiative aims to promote innovation in Africa and has supported various ICT startups in the country and invested in programmes that empower women through ICT.
