AFF, Access Bank foster tech diversity with female-centric Digital Academy   

Committed to fostering diversity in the African Tech Industry, the Africa Fintech Foundry (AFF) and Access Bank’s ‘W’ Initiative have collaborated to establish a Female Digital Academy, which will educate over 500 women to become technology gurus over the next 3-5 years. The Female Digital School is a female-centric digital academy that educates and prepares the next generation of technology professionals for the job market, providing them with skills, jobs, internships, mentoring and financial assistance for those in need. For a modest cost of N25,000 and a 50% discount, the 3-month program offers a wide range of inspiring tech courses such as Mobile Development, Front-end Web Development, Back-end Web Development, Python for Data Science and Machine Learning. Applications for the Academy commences from September 4th, 2021, to October 17th, 2021.  

Speaking on the exciting initiative, Daniel Awe, Head of the African Fintech Foundry, stated, “The African Fintech Foundry is dedicated to promoting inclusion and diversity in the technology sector. This is why we are consistently championing causes that encourage gender diversity and equip women to penetrate the tech sector successfully. The academy allows each participant to choose a module of their choice, equipping them with all the features they would need to assimilate its content fully. We are going as far as providing funding, internships and access to top tech CEOs and MDs to serve as mentors to the participants,” he added. 

Highlighting a need for diversity and female participation in the tech industry, Ayona Trimnell, the Group Head/Coordinator, ‘W’ Initiative at Access Bank, said, “The tech sector has long been known as a male-dominated field. Given the critical role that technological innovation plays in varying sectors of the economy, the persistent underrepresentation of women in technology poses a significant economic problem if not addressed. This initiative not only helps combat this gross imbalance but is also particularly timely as the world continues to move towards a digital future.”