- Women entrepreneurs in three counties are set to gain digital skills to grow their businesses.
- The training model could reach thousands more women through community based trainers.
- An online marketplace will help participants market products and reach customers beyond their local areas.
Women running small businesses in Nairobi, Nyandarua and Tana River counties are set to benefit from digital skills training aimed at helping them reach more customers, manage finances and increase their incomes through technology.
The initiative is being implemented by the Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) under the SheConnect EmpowerHer Digital Accelerator programme, which seeks to equip women with practical digital and business skills.
KICTANet has begun training 100 women from the three counties during a three-day Trainer of Trainers workshop. The participants are expected to transfer the knowledge gained to other women in their communities, creating a wider network of digitally skilled women entrepreneurs.
Nairobi County Coordinator for the EmpowerHer project, Elizabeth Namarome, said the programme seeks to help women move beyond using the internet mainly for communication and entertainment.
“Someone in Nairobi can be using the internet for business, but someone in rural places may just be scrolling. They are not seeing the possibilities that the internet can open for them,” Namarome said.
The training covers digital literacy, entrepreneurship, financial literacy, social media marketing and cyber hygiene. It is designed to bridge the gap between access to technology and the ability to use digital tools effectively for economic empowerment.
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Under the cascading training model, each of the 100 trainers will train 50 women, potentially reaching about 5,000 women. The programme will also establish a community of practice where participants can share opportunities, challenges and lessons learned after the training.
An online marketplace is also expected to provide women with an additional platform to market their products and services and connect with customers beyond their immediate communities.
KICTANet chief executive, Grace Githaiga, said the programme forms part of the organisation’s wider capacity-building efforts focused on digital skills, online safety and cyber hygiene.
“KICTANet is a multi-stakeholder think tank that works in ICT policy and regulation through four pillars. We conduct research, policy advocacy, engagement and capacity building,” Dr Githaiga said.
She said many of the women targeted by the programme operate small businesses, including selling second-hand clothes and food, and can use digital platforms to promote their products without the need to maintain physical shops.
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“We are telling them that these platforms are a far better marketing tool. Sometimes they may not need a physical space, like a shop, to sell some of those products,” she said.
The programme is also equipping women with basic financial management skills, including separating business finances from personal money, calculating profits and using digital financial services to monitor transactions.
Participants are being introduced to tools such as Pochi to help them keep better records of their business transactions and understand their financial performance.
KICTANet Women Digital Rights Programme representative, Sherry Oyer, urged women to use digital platforms safely as they embrace technology for business.
“The Women Digital Rights Programme works around women’s digital rights on online platforms, from online safety to ensuring that women are on these platforms and can use them for economic empowerment,” Oyer said.
The programme is also seeking to address barriers that prevent some women from fully participating in the digital economy. These include mistrust of online transactions, cultural attitudes, limited access to smartphones and differences in digital experience among various age groups.
Funded by CARE and implemented by KICTANet, the EmpowerHer programme targets 15,000 women across Nairobi, Tana River and Nyandarua counties, with digital skills and economic empowerment at the centre of its implementation.
By Bernard Magada
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