The High Tech Centre for Nigerian Women and Youths (HTCNWY) has called on governments and stakeholders to support women’s participation in hardware technology and manufacturing.
Dr. Omowunmi Hassan, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of HTCNWY, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
The appeal was made as part of activities marking the 20th Women’s Tech Week in Abuja.
Hassan said women should be encouraged to acquire skills in hardware technology, including solar panel production, biogas digester construction, and agricultural technology development.
“We are encouraging women to get involved in hardware technology, building solar panels, building biogas digesters and technologies that support agriculture,” she said.
She explained that these technologies could benefit women, particularly those involved in agriculture, through innovations such as solar dryers and other equipment designed to improve agricultural productivity.
According to her, although some of these technologies require substantial capital, acquiring the necessary skills should be the first step towards participation.
“What we are saying is that we should not look for the money first; when you get the skill and you are able to manufacture, you are able to produce, I am sure, there will be funding somewhere,” she said.
The HTCNWY chief executive called on governments and other stakeholders to provide the support needed to enable women to participate meaningfully in the technology sector.
Hassan said the centre had continued to create skills development opportunities for women and youths through both physical and virtual training programmes.
“We are building skills every day, virtually and physically and we hope that very soon, all of these will help us to get to the local level,” she said.
She also explained that the centre’s ‘Tech Her Vote’ initiative was designed to bring women together across regions, age groups, and communities to promote technology skills development.
Hassan encouraged women to organise themselves within their communities and participate in available training programmes, either physically or virtually.
“You don’t need to be physically there, if you cannot, you can be virtually. But as many as can be physically somewhere, please make yourself available so that we can make a difference together,” she said.
The 20th Women’s Tech Week was organised by HTCNWY in collaboration with Africa ICT Alliances (AfICTA), with a focus on promoting women’s participation in technology and addressing barriers to inclusion.
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