The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has launched a digital entrepreneurship training programme targeting 5,000 women and girls in Kano and Bauchi states to equip them with skills to grow their businesses through digital technologies.
The programme is being implemented under CITAD’s Addressing the Gender Digital Divide and Expanding Business Opportunities for Women and Girls in Northern Nigeria (Agenda-WINNIG) project, supported by Care Foundation through the SheConnects Digital Accelerator.
The Project Manager, Fatima Babakura, said the initiative was designed to bridge the gap between digital literacy and entrepreneurship by helping women and girls turn their digital skills into economic opportunities.
She said many women running small businesses in Northern Nigeria lacked the skills to maximise digital platforms for marketing, online sales, customer engagement and business management.
“Although access to digital skills is an important step towards bridging the gender digital divide, meaningful digital inclusion also requires ensuring that women and girls can use these skills to improve their livelihoods and economic participation,” Babakura said.
The training will cover digital marketing, business branding, e-commerce, online customer engagement and secure digital transactions.
Participants will also learn how to create and manage WhatsApp Business accounts, develop product catalogues, design promotional materials using Canva and use virtual marketplaces to promote and sell their products.
The programme will further expose participants to digital payment systems, including bank transfers and QR-code payments, as well as measures to identify fraudulent transactions and protect their business accounts and financial information.
Women engaged in tailoring, food processing, catering, cosmetics, fashion, agriculture and retail trading are among the expected beneficiaries.
The training will feature practical demonstrations, individual exercises, group activities and peer learning, with participants using their mobile phones to practise the skills.
Participants will also develop individual business growth plans to identify digital tools they can adopt to improve their businesses, attract customers and reach markets beyond their immediate communities.
CITAD said women with disabilities would also be included to promote equal access to digital entrepreneurship opportunities.
The organisation added that it would facilitate peer-support networks and link participants with entrepreneurship support institutions, financial service providers and business development organisations to sustain the gains of the programme.