On Monday, the last day of the “Digital Nation” exhibition and conference, a session entitled “Women are a key driver of digital transformation”, discussed the proposals of women in the ICT sector and the opportunities that digital transformation needs for women to work and participate in the development process taking place because of technology solutions and means of communication.
Egypt University of Informatics (EUI) encourages the concept of entrepreneurship and self-employment ideas that depend on constant creativity and innovation, in a number of technological disciplines such as business administration, artificial intelligence, digital marketing and others, Reem Bahgat, EUI President, said.
She stressed that in the various disciplines being studied the concept of entrepreneurship and innovation is the focus.
The Egyptian government generally tends to support self-employed women and entrepreneurs, not only in the technological fields, but in all fields, Bahgat added.
Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA)-supported programs are being implemented at the level of all governorates in Egypt, Amany Rabie, Executive Vice President of ITIDA said.
After the COVID-19 pandemic, a boom in the spread of these programs spread and the ability to better reach every citizen in their homes was enhanced, which supported the concept of remote study and work, which greatly supported women, Rabie said.
ITIDA implemented the “She is a Pioneer” program, which has benefited more than 600 women.
This program was developed after the coronavirus precautionary measures were imposed and social distancing was mandatory, she added.
ITIDA implemented also the “Our Digital Future” initiative, which supports many success stories for a large number of women across Egypt and is based on distance learning program.
More than 200,000 people have benefited from the “Our Digital Future” initiative, of whom about 35 percent were women, she said.
ITIDA programs take into account justice when providing opportunities to women in Egypt, and therefore the programs implemented by the authority serve women in any governorate, Rabie stated.
IBM is always keen to be a partner of the Egyptian government in all digital transformation programs and technology, Marwa Abbas, General Manager of IBM Egypt, said, adding that she is the first woman to run the company in Egypt, which reflects the company’s interest in empowering women being an active element in the society.
She pointed out that all international companies are usually keen to have a specific percentage of women in all work departments, not only in Egypt, but all over in the world.
IBM aims to train 30 million people worldwide before the end of 2030, and there is no doubt that women have a large share of this goal in a manner that serves the sustainable development process, Abbas said.
Victory Link company has a program to train women after graduation at the university to qualify them for the labor market, Engy al-Sabban, CEO of Victory Link, said.
The company launched the “A New One” initiative to tell the success stories of inspiring women and their successful experiences in the labor market and in life in general, with the aim of reaching all young women across Egypt and other Arab countries, Sabban said.
A book is currently being published that includes a large number of women’s success stories in Egypt, under the auspices of the Ministry of Solidarity.
The book is scheduled to be published annually and to include ten stories of successful Egyptian women in their fields, Sabban said.
