NAIROBI, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese technology firm Huawei on Friday launched a program to mentor Kenyan women pursuing ICT-related courses in order to enhance their employability and ability to venture into digital entrepreneurship.
Stone He, Chief Executive Officer, Huawei Kenya, said the Women in Technology Huawei Initiative (WITH) mentorship program is expected to bridge gender gap in digital literacy in the east African nation.
"We realized there is need to give opportunities to women in the ICT field by ensuring they are mentored and trained to enable them take up senior management positions," said He.
The Huawei's mentorship program that is part of corporate social responsibility, aims to empower the future generation of Kenyan women in technology by providing them with skills, role models and opportunities that are required to make them thrive in the male dominated field.
The innovative program is expected to increase the number of young girls taking up mathematics, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and create a platform where they can share challenges and opportunities.
According to He, Huawei intends to increase the number of women in its workforce and create a conducive environment for them to realize career mobility.
"It is our hope that one day Huawei will have a local female chief executive. We look forward to have more women at the management level and the goal can be realized if we provide them with necessary skills," he said.
He said that Huawei has encouraged local technology firms to rally behind efforts to bridge gender gap in digital literacy as a way of giving back to communities where they operate.
It is hoped that over 4,000 women and girls will be impacted directly by the new Huawei CSR program in the next 12 months.
Maureen Mwaniki, head of health and safety at Huawei, said the new mentorship program has raised the bar in expanding space for women in the rapidly evolving ICT sector.
"We have set clear goals and together with partners, we will achieve them," said Mwaniki.
Devilyn Misigo, a 25-year-old computer science major lauded Huawei for providing her with training and internship that enabled her become an accomplished cyber security professional.
"I am grateful to Huawei for granting me an opportunity to develop skills in cyber security despite socio-cultural hurdles placed in my path,"said Misigo.
During the launch event Huawei invited various partners across the value chain: their customers, suppliers, academic partners, charitable partners, channel partners and peers in order to discuss how to collaborate to drive the WITH agenda together.
