By 
A mentoring programme has been launched to empower girls by equipping them with skills to enhance their career prospects and entrepreneurship in digital marketplace.
The programme dubbed Spark is part of the Tech Women Festival to be held in March to honor top female digital practitioners, innovators and industry leaders. It is skewed towards innovation and entrepreneurship in technology.
In 2025, the Spark Mentoring Programme targets more than 10,000 girls from universities and organized youth groups across all countries. The girls will be impacted with appropriate skills and knowledge to help them identify the right career, establish tech start-ups, and connect with industry practitioners.
Start off your week with tech news recap and trending conversations in your inbox
Speaking at the launch in Nairobi, Teki CEO and Festival Director Mr Martin Muli disclosed that the programme’s climax will be pairing the Top 25 girls in Digital with the top 25 Women in Digital for support and one-on-one mentorship.
The mentees will also complete a ten-module online program with impactful sessions on leadership, entrepreneurship, career path, and personal brand building.
“The mentoring programme is a key pillar of the Tech Women Festival, which brings several players in the digital ecosystem to celebrate milestones and explore policy gaps in the tech industry while connecting with peers. The festival to be held next month will also honour the Top 25 women trailblazers in digital,” said Muli.
The programme will focus on encouraging creativity and innovations in digital projects with global impact and offering relevant interventions for the mentees to start and scale up digital businesses.
According to UNESCO, the UN agency that promotes international cooperation in education, arts, sciences, and culture, there is a significant gender disparity in the tech sector in Kenya. Women hold less than 30% of digital technology positions, meaning the majority of tech jobs are held by men.
The gap is attributed to factors like limited access to education and training in Information Communications and Technology (ICT) fields for girls, which leads to their underrepresentation in tech careers throughout their lives.
Safaricom has been running outreach programmes for university tech students to introduce them to the industry’s needs and trends as they seek to establish the foundations necessary to enter the world of work.
Safaricom’s Diana Ogeto said the girls will be equipped with skills in emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Data Science and Cyber Security to enable them to navigate the digital world.
“The curriculum alone cannot enable female tech students to survive in the current work environment and we have partnered with the Teki and other like-minded corporates to foster an ecosystem where young women are not just consumers of technology but also creators, innovators, and leaders,” said Diana.
Microsoft Artificial Intelligence National Skills Director Winnie Karanu urged public and corporate institutions to take advantage of the rapid developments in technology and adopt flexible working hours for GenZs and young women to enable them to prosper in their careers.
Addressing the audience on how women in technology can break the glass ceiling, Ms Karanu said the technology offers numerous opportunities for companies to meet their revenue targets even remotely working from home.
“For young girls, you need to know your craft, master it well, focus, and always step out of your comfort zones to be able to meet new challenges that come with growth opportunities,” she urged girls.
Comments