Developing Essential Digital Skills for Women and Youth in Africa

From basic computer literacy to advanced data analytics, digital skills are essential in today’s world and work environment. As more sectors shift to digital platforms and technologies continue to evolve, possessing these skills enables individuals to access better career opportunities and stay resilient in a rapidly changing job market. Given its commitment to Leaving No One Behind and promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth, the UNITAR Division for Prosperity organized the “Developing Essential Skills for Women and Youth in Africa: Enhancing Employment Opportunities and Livelihood Development in the Digital Economy” programme. This Impact Story reveals that the programme was well received by participants and that the majority were able to use what they have learned, including some 20 per cent of participants who continued working on their business ideas or project proposals.

With the financial support of the Government and the People of Japan, the programme aimed at enhancing women's and youth's capacity to build and scale bankable innovations that respond to local social issues and demonstrate hands-on skills to grow in their professional paths in their respective countries and tap into the global workforce. The programme also counted on the technical support from IBM and Microsoft East Africa.

The programme received 8,392 applications and accepted 7,074 participants from 24 countries from the African continent, of which 70 per cent were female participants and 92 per cent were under 35 years old, as illustrated in Figure 1.

The programme was delivered in English between November 2023 and March 2024. It was implemented in three phases: i) foundational phase (online, self-paced, November – December 2023); ii) hackathon and self-led projects (online, December 2023 – January 2024); and iii) sustainability and community leadership training (online and hybrid, February – March 2024). The first phase was distributed between the IBM and Microsoft tracks, each focusing on a different skill set and expertise, as described in Table 1, built around three profiles: foundational, upskilling, and industry-specific track. Successful participants from Phase I had the opportunity to participate in the hackathon (phase II) and a smaller group of selected participants from Phase II advanced to the third phase of the programme.

Besides, UNITAR invited finance institutions to witness the project developments from the programme’s second phase, creating a bridge between participants’ ideas and potential financing mechanisms. 

From the 7,074 participants in phase I, over 3,000 took part in the hackathon (phase II), and 50 were further shortlisted for the final phase of the project, from which 25 were selected for the in-person session in Nairobi.

This Impact Story intends to capture any changes that the programme may have generated in participants’ lives, including growth in their professional paths and innovations led. To do so, a follow-up survey was deployed seven months after the programme completion and three additional interviews were conducted with programme participants. The survey received 466 responses from phase I participants (7 per cent response rate) and 240 responses from participants from phases II and III (27 per cent response rate). 

Links with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The programme was aligned with SDG 5 “Gender equality”, SDG 8 “Decent work and economic growth”, and SDG 10 “Reduced inequalities”.