Bogdan-Martin was the Special Guest of Honour during the International Day of Rural Women 2022 celebration held by Women in Tech in Nigeria (WITIN), a leading community that nurtures women and girls in technology within Nigeria, Africa and beyond, held on Friday in Lagos.

The ITU Scribe agrees with a report which suggests that giving women increased opportunities and access to digital skills and connectivity could rise agricultural production by 2.5 to 4 per cent in the poorest regions and the number of malnourished people could be reduced by 12 to 17 percent.

Bogdan-Martin speaks: “It’s a pleasure to join with the WITIN team today and to celebrate this year’s International Day of Rural Women. This year’s Day has as its theme ‘Rural Women Cultivating Good Food‘.

“Let me start by congratulating Martha Alade and her amazing colleagues who were named WSIS Prize Champions for 2022. And for all the work that they do to empower women and to bridge the digital gender divide through their WomenPride.Africa initiative. We’re also thrilled to have them as a member of our connected community and I personally look forward to working alongside you to help you implement your pledge”.

She said that to bring safe and meaningful access to connectivity to out-of-school and to the hardest to reach women and girls in Africa, the theme of this year’s International Day of Rural Women is such an important one because rural women play an absolutely critical role in the world’s food systems.

“Women comprise nearly half of the world’s smallholder farmers, and it’s estimated that they produce 70% of Africa’s food. Increasingly, digital technologies are helping them in this vital task. From monitoring crops and water consumption to predicting weather conditions to helping combat agricultural pests, access to connectivity can go a long way to improving food quality and helping feed hungry families.

“ITU research shows that digital applications, especially in resource constrained environments, can actually deliver savings and huge productivity gains. In Nigeria, initiatives are already underway to use the Internet of Things (IoT) to power cooking stoves for families.

And during ITU AI for Good Summit, we saw how Pennsylvania State University had teamed up with our sector UN agency, the FAO (Food and Agricultural Organisation) to develop a highly usable, voice driven app that’s called Neuro. Neuro helps to combat the destructive fall armyworm moth, which was first detected in Nigeria in 2016. Digital technologies like these have the potential to transform the world.

“But right now, the digital divide is preventing too few women from harnessing that power. In Africa, only 34% of women on average are actually using the internet compared to 45% of those in least developed countries where fewer than 1/3 of women have any kind of internet access. Rural women face even more barriers because ITU figures show that only 15% of Africa’s rural dwellers are actually compared with 50% of the urban population”, Bogdan-Martin said.

She added that changing that picture fast is the aim of ITU’s drive that has mobilised over 28 connectivity commitments.

“… a few months back, I met with Nigeria’s Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Honourable Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), who chaired this year’s WSIS forum. I know how much Nigeria shares our commitment to digital gender equality.

“I’m pleased to know that we’re currently working with partners like Nigeria… on activities to address digital connectivity, including the challenges faced by women in unserved and poorly connected communities.

“My team also recently brought a network of experts, connectivity advocates and social entrepreneurs together in Abuja for a workshop on last mile connectivity and complementary connectivity solutions that were aimed at formulating strategies to connect more Nigerians living in rural areas.

And when I take up my new role, as the ITU Secretary General; the first woman to be elected in ITU’s 157 year history, I really look forward to further building on that close collaboration with the Nigerian government, with the private sector players, and the highly effective grassroot groups, like WITIN.

“Let’s work together so that we can ensure that every rural woman has affordable access, and the ability to use connectivity in the way that she needs in order to improve her life. And with it, the future prosperity of her family, her community and her nation”, the ITU Scribe told women gathered at the occasion.

In his goodwill message, Professor Umar Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), said that as the organization regulating telecommunications industry in Nigeria, the NCC’s vision and efforts is to drive broadband penetration to every nook and cranny of the country with rural women at the front burner; so that no one is left behind in the area of digital inclusivity.

The EVC who spoke through Oladoyin Aiyenitaju, a Principal Manager at NCC,  said, “It is our conviction that if digital inclusiveness is diligently pursued by all stakeholders concerned, we would have been able to address a number of Goals in the UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals 2030, especially with respect to poverty elimination, zero hunger, gender equity, reduced inequality, among others.

Sade Dada, Africa Public Policy Manager, Access and Connectivity, Meta Platform Inc., told the women (participants) drawn from Ifeoluwa Piggery Farm, Ojoo-Badagry – Lagos, that their participation in the programme underscores the importance of digital access for all.

According to her, Meta has invested significant resources in bringing her platforms; Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp to nationals including empowering women.

“Three billion people around the world use our products to share ideas, build businesses, educate and so much. The International Day of Rural Women highlights the essential role women and girls play in the systems of the world.

I commend the Women in Technology in Nigeria (WITIN) for the great work you are doing with your WomenPride.Africa project which proposes digital solutions to support women including farmers. We strongly believe in the role of technology and digital solutions and access to the internet play in the social and economic development of individuals and communities”, she said.

On her part, Professor Francisca Oladipo, the Vice Chancellor, Thomas Adewumi University, described women as changemakers in society.

“Digital technology has helped to ensure access and inclusion across many sectors including agriculture; and several examples abound to demonstrate that more girls and women can be able to participate, especially through various programmes.

“Women by nature are wired to care for the community and any investment in them is more likely to produce positive impacts in the society.

“According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), there are less than 20% of women landowners worldwide. However, these women can make more impact from their holdings if they are empowered by digital technology”, Prof. Oladipo said.

She said that WITIN’s activities will surely assist the women to achieve more through digital skills empowerments.

Mary Uduma, the Alternative Chairperson, Urunwanne Women Development and Empowerment Association, also encouraged the women to embrace digital skills and tools to enhance their agricultural outputs.

Earlier in her address, Martha Alade, the Founder, Women in Tech in Nigeria (WITIN), said that empowering the women farmers was part of the Organization’s programes for job shadowing, leadership, entrepreneurship and mentorship.

She added that WITIN-RURAL initiative aims to foster job creation and revenues in local communities for women and girls through WITIN programs, adding that the theme: ‘Rural Women Cultivating Good Food for All: The Imperative of Digital Inclusion,’ was carefully selected to reflect that anyone can participate in the digital economy irrespective of gender or social status.

In response, Chinenye Nwokoye, the Women Leader of Ifeoluwa Piggery Farm, thanked WITIN and the ecosystem supporters for the interest to look into their plights.

According to her, the women are encouraged by the outcome of the day’s occasion. She however listed some of the challenges faced by the smallholder farmers. Nwokoye said they lacked funds to expand their farming business, especially the procurement of animal feeds.

She also hinted on waste management, stressing that the disposal of their waste is a very big challenge to them. “We need the machine that turns this waste into fertilizer”, amongst other challenges.

The session also featured presentations from leading voices in the technology, innovation and agric-tech ecosystems while Basirat Ishola, ESS Manager, Huawei Nigeria, delivered the vote of thanks. 

Recognized locally, nationally and internationally for ability to deliver projects diligently with 100% Principal satisfaction, she won the AWIEF award barely five months of being named among WSIS Prize 2022 Champions following her WomenPRIDE.Africa Project.

The winners of the 2022 AWIEF Awards were announced last night at a glittering ceremony on the rooftop of the Nile Ritz-Carlton, Cairo, Egypt.

The awards ceremony and gala dinner capped the two-day #AWIEF2022 Conference, which was held in North Africa for the first time.

The prestigious annual AWIEF Awards recognise, honour, and celebrate women entrepreneurs and business owners in Africa across various industry sectors for their achievements and contribution to the continent’s inclusive economic growth and social development.

And the winners of the 2022 AWIEF Awards are:

. EMPOWERMENT AWARD – Martha Alade – Founder, Women in Technology in Nigeria (WITIN), Nigeria

. YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR AWARD – Gisèla Van Houcke – Founder and CEO, Zuri Luxury Hair and Beauty, DR Congo

. TECH ENTREPRENEUR AWARD – Sahar Salama – Founder and CEO, TPAY Mobile, Egypt

. AGRI ENTREPRENEUR AWARD – Korka Diaw – President, Réseau des Agricultrices du Nord, Senegal

. ENERGY ENTREPRENEUR AWARD – Mona Al Adawy – Founder and CEO, GeoEnergy Petroleum Services, Egypt

. CREATIVE INDUSTRY AWARD – Abai Schulze  – Founder and Creative Director, ZAAF Collection, Ethiopia

. SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR AWARD – Lumbie Mlambo – Founder and CEO, JB Dondolo, Zimbabwe

. LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD – Manal Amin – CEO, Arabize, Egypt

Irene Ochem, AWIEF Founder & CEO, said at the ceremony: “Congratulations to the winners and thank you to our judges. I always feel a little emotional when it comes to the AWIEF Awards ceremony because it means that we’re nearing the end of the year’s activities, but it’s a bittersweet feeling because we also get to celebrate phenomenal women. It’s an opportunity to see the fruits of our work and know why we do what we do.”

Also speaking, Izabela Milewska, Digital Skills Global Leader at Amazon Web Services (AWS), Headline Sponsor of the AWIEF Awards, said: “I applaud wholeheartedly every single woman gathered here today and especially all the award nominees and winners. Your work and achievements are the north star for many other women to follow your footsteps, learn from your incredible experience and dream big.

“Amazon Web Services is proud to partner with Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum and support this community with education and training opportunities across Africa, in an effort to accelerate gender equality and women empowerment through cloud computing technology.”

The award recipient, Martha Alade told TechEconomy.ng that winning the prestigious award will spur her to do more in the ecosystem

In her words: “Winning this prestigious award is a great inspiration for me. This award will further spur me to redouble efforts on delivering for Women in Tech!  Thanks to AWIEF for this recognition and our promise at WITIN has always been to remain remain focused.

Martha Alade is an Artificial intelligence and ICT4D Consultant with 20+ years of experience working in the intersection of technology and development with expertise on gender equality, diversity and inclusion.

She possesses in-depth experience working with both the public, private and grassroots sectors and Passionate about Internet Governance.

The WSIS Prizes 2022 is an exceptional international recognition of WSIS stakeholders as winners and champions for their excellence in supporting the implementation of WSIS outcomes, in particular the action lines supporting achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

It was developed in response to requests from the WSIS stakeholders to create an effective mechanism to evaluate projects and activities that leverage the power of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to advance sustainable development. Since inception, the contest of WSIS Prizes has attracted hundreds of thousands of stakeholders. 

The letter, which conveyed the UN recognition to WITIN, which was signed by the Program Coordinator, Strategic Planning and Membership Department, International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Vladimir Stankovic, reads: “Congratulations! It is with great pleasure to inform you that your project has been selected as the WSIS Prize 2022 Champion! Explore the results of the Selection Phase and meet all Champions here www.wsis.org/prizes

“Following our public announcement of the WSIS Prizes 2022 Champion on the aforementioned website, we are reaching to you with brief summary of this year’s annual awards and invitation to celebrate your achievement together.

“Out of 966 submitted projects, 360 were nominated for the Online Voting, following a comprehensive review by the Expert Group. We have reviewed more than 1.3 million votes cast and your project was among the top five most voted in your category. We would like to congratulate you on this amazing achievement and to invite you to promote this global recognition.

“Continuing with the last years’ much appreciated practice by the WSIS community, we are pleased to recognize the efforts and great work of WSIS Prizes 2022 runner-ups as WSIS Prizes 2022 Champions during the final week of the WSIS Forum 2022 (May 30 to June 3) and beyond. We will soon be sharing more detailed information about the program and proposals for your participation and promotion.”

Responding to the award, Mrs. Martha Alade, the Founder, Women in Technology in Nigeria (WITIN), said the recognition will give the body, immense visibility, “with our hashtag #WomenPRIDEdotAfrica trending for the first time. We saw people we have never met speaking up and acknowledging our efforts of two decades globally. This is motivating us enormously to work even harder, surpassing our target. Also, it gives us a platform to reach out to more partners.”

Alade, who said WomenPride.Africa is an acronym for (Women and Girls, Pivoting, Resilience, In the Digital Economy in Africa), disclosed that it was a COVID-response and an initiative of WITIN, which equips women and girls to thrive in the digital economy via three pivotal pillars, which are in-demand digital skills training; urban-rural partnerships and empowerment; and meaningful access and adoption advocacy.

She said it is a five-year action plan (2020 – 2025) in partnership with the International Telecommunications Union Girls in ICT and Partner2Connect coalition  aimed at socio-economically empowering 100,000  women and girls in Nigeria and Africa at large.

The WITIN Founder said the organisation organises series of hybrid workshops for girls in May and June 2022, in line with the ITU approved toolkit for celebration of Girls in ICT 2022 events.