Grace Ashiru
Over one thousand women and girls from all of Nigeria’s 28 states participated in the inaugural VBank Women in Tech Nigeria Makeathon, which the brand sponsored. These participants were keen on learning relevant tech skills to build a solid base for a future-proof career.
This promise aligns with VBank’s mission to help people reach their goals more quickly.
These women were armed with digital marketing, deep tech, cybersecurity, software programming ,data analytics, soft skills and product management.
In addition to combating the plague of unemployment, the alliance hopes to close the skills gap between men and women and increase the number of women who use technology.
The first edition of the Makeathon program provided more than one thousand beneficiaries with the opportunity to participate in free digital literacy and capacity. This activity lasted four months, beginning in March 2022 and concluding in June.
They were equipped with the essential technical skills to develop their technological competencies and contribute to the development of Nigeria’s technology ecosystem. The goal of the Makeathon program is not limited to educating and empowering girls and women between the ages of 18 and 45 with the necessary technological abilities. To this point, over ten of the world’s leading technology companies have confirmed that they want to provide quite a few of the recipients, who graduated just the previous week, with internship opportunities in which they can put their abilities to the test.
Gbenga Omolokun, MD of VFD Microfinance Bank, stated during the commencement ceremony: “We feel a sense of pride for the graduates and the accomplishments that have brought them to this point in their lives.
We are excited to be a part of a project dedicated to assisting thousands of girls and women in creating successful careers in the field of technology while concurrently bridging the gap between the sexes in terms of their technical and economic capabilities in our societies. It is encouraging to see women with no previous computer industry experience coming into the area to show their case and learn their abilities. We are dedicated to this project and will keep working toward our aim of assisting more women in achieving their ambitions in the technology sector.
Ayumi Moore, CEO and founder of The Women in Tech Global, also spoke during the graduation event. She remarked, “These women, whose accomplishments we are honouring today, have been trained in digital abilities that they may use in various fields..”We are delighted to have played a role in assisting one thousand women in acquiring skills that will enable them to find employment and contribute to the expansion of the technology ecosystem.
Grace Emmanuel, whose account was hacked many times over two years and had her savings stolen each time, expressed her happiness at the successful completion of her cybersecurity training.”In January of 2022, I mentioned to a buddy I was considering a career in technology, but I wasn’t sure which specific field I wanted to pursue. The opportunity to participate in the Makeathon program was like a dream come true for me since I gained so much knowledge about networking, web applications, information security,the basics, and different levels of cyber protection. The education was valuable, and I appreciate having the chance to participate in this program.
Another recipient, Okosun Elizabeth, who trained in software programming, shared her thoughts. When I finally had the chance to take the course, I felt overjoyed because it was something I had always been interested in studying but had never had the chance to do. Initially, I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to comprehend the entire enigma that is coding; nevertheless, after classes began, I found that coding was a piece of cake. I want to express my gratitude to Women in tech Nigeria and V Bank for providing me with this fantastic opportunity.
