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To help overcome the gender digital divide in Africa and improve digital skills and employment opportunities for girls and women on the continent, Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) has launched an initiative called #eSkills4Girls under the G-20 Compact with Africa.

The first #eSkills4Girls Africa Meetup held in Kigali, Rwanda on Wednesday, and was organised by BMZ in collaboration with SAP, a German multinational software company; UNESCO; and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, a German international development agency. The event provided a platform for female tech leaders in Africa, entrepreneurs, activists and mentors involved in improving girls' digital skills to share experience and knowledge.  

"We need to prepare Africa's youth to be critical thinkers so they are ready to face the challenges of the future,” said Davide Storti, Programme Specialist for the Communication and Information Sector at UNESCO. “UNESCO pioneered open educational resources in 2002 with the belief that content and free and open source software should be shared freely. Initiatives such as #eSkills4Girls further builds on the work UNESCO has done in this regard."

Birgit Frank, Senior Policy Officer for the Education and Digital World Division at BMZ, said there are huge challenges facing women in Africa's digital revolution. According to Frank, there are currently 250 million fewer women online than men, a gap that needs to be urgently closed.

"Prevailing cultural barriers and stereotypes mean women are 1.6 times more likely to report a lack of digital skills as a barrier to their involvement in the Digital Economy,” said the BMZ Senior Policy Officer. “This initiative empowers girls and women particularly in emerging and developing countries by promoting digital skills to improve their job prospects in an ever-increasing digital world."

At the end of 2016, SAP and BMZ signed an agreement to strengthen tech entrepreneurship in developing countries. The deal aims to bring together key public and private sector players in Germany, Europe, and developing countries to develop IT start-ups under the BMZ's Make-IT initiative. The first project worldwide is currently being piloted in Nigeria.

SAP said its efforts to drive Africa's digital transformation include its well-recognised Africa Code Week initiative. About 427,000 students from 30 African countries participated in last year's annual coding training programme. Morocco won the Africa Code Week 2016, retaining the top spot from the previous year’s competition.  

"This year (2017) we aim to train half a million African youth,” said Claire Gillissen-Duval, Director of EMEA Corporate Social Responsibility at SAP. “By teaching youth basic coding skills, we are tapping into Africa's most precious resource – its people – and unlocking a new phase of growth and prosperity on the African continent. It is thanks to our partners that we can truly say that Africa Code Week is an effective and one-of-a-kind continental skills development programme that successfully brings African youth into the formal Digital Economy fold."

The #eSkills4Girls Africa Meetup held ahead of the ongoing Transform Africa Summit, taking place in Kigali from May 10-12. This year's summit focuses on 'smart cities.' The aim is to ensure African capitals embrace technology to effectively deliver services.