Building upscale entrepreneurship skills
30,000 women to get training under WIFI
Bangladesh is the fourth country to implement Women ICT Frontier Initiative (WIFI)
Staff Reporter
Women ICT Frontier Initiative (WIFI) which aims to create socially and economically-empowered women through ICT will play an important role in women empowerment, Speaker of Jatiya Sangsad Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury said.
Initiating the program like WIFI is so relevant and timely move for Bangladesh for women empowerment and their inclusiveness through ICT, speaker said this while launching the ceremony of WIFI in a hotel in the capital yesterday.
Under the WIFI initiative, ICT Division is planning to provide training to upscale the entrepreneurship skills to 30,000 women to achieve the target of SDG-5.
State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Meher Afroze Chumki addressed the function as the special guest while State Minister for ICT Division Zunaid Ahmed Palak presided over it.
Dr Shirin said, The government is taking various initiatives for women empowerment, which eventually will supplement the efforts of building a digital Bangladesh.
Initiative like WIFI will help to engage more women into e-commerce and online marketing, she added.
Women and Children Affairs Minister Meher Afroz Chumki said, it is important to engage both - male and women in ICT for the implementation of Digital Bangladesh vision. This program will help to bring the women from the root level to the mainstream ICT sector and will play a pivotal role to empower them.
As chair of the launching event, State Minister State for ICT Palak said, We are giving capacity development training to more than hundred thousand young women and men under different projects like Leveraging ICT for Growth Employment and Governance, Support to Kaliakair Hi-Tech Parks, Learning and Earning Development
In all of these capacity development programs, we have ensured at least 30 per cent women participation. Recently, we have adopted a new project titled She Power exclusively for development of 10,500 women entrepreneurs for our ICT Industry he added.
Director UNAPCICT (United Nations Asian and Pacific Training Centre for ICT for Development) Dr Hyeun-Suk Rhee said, she will advocate for the development of Bangladeshi ICT sector to the United Nations.
E-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (e-CAB) President Razib Ahmed told The Independent that a great initiative has been taken by the ICT Department and UN-APCICT, but women living outside Dhaka should also be given equal opportunity to train for capacity development.
ICT Department can invite some real women entrepreneur as they will share their experiences and problems while doing business in front of the selected candidates during training period.
President of e-CAB said the government should provide assistance to the eligible women entrepreneur to initiate their startup or business.
US Ambassador to Bangladesh Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat, Australian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Julia Niblett, United Nations Asian and Pacific Training Centre for Information and Communication Technology for Development (UN-APCICT) Director Dr Hyeun-Suk Rhee and ICT secretary (acting) Subir Kishore Choudhury, among others, addressed the function.
