The Kwara governor’s wife, Olufolake AbdulRazaq, has said that the Olufolake Women ICT E-Learning and Skills Acquisition Centre would help bridge the gender divide in technology and empower women in the emerging global economy.

Mrs AbdulRazaq said this in Ilorin on Monday at the inauguration of the centre, an intervention supported by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).

She said the facility was designed to provide market women, young female graduates and marginalised girls with access to digital education, ICT tools and skills acquisition.

The governor’s wife said many women in the state were behind in digital literacy due partly to inadequate access to laptops, mobile phones and other tools required to develop their businesses and professional skills.

She said that the centre would equip beneficiaries with skills to become digital creators, e-commerce entrepreneurs, data analysts and technology-driven leaders.

According to Mrs AbdulRazaq, digital literacy is essential for professional development, socio-economic relevance and competitiveness in the modern marketplace and global economy.

She said technology-driven empowerment must be complemented with vocational skills and financial capacity, adding that the centre therefore combined ICT training with skills acquisition.

“Skills acquisition remained a major component of the economic empowerment programmes of my office and the Ajike People Support Centre, through which women and young people had received vocational training, start-up tools and financial literacy.

“I urge beneficiaries to take ownership of the facility and use the available resources effectively to achieve their aspirations.

“It is my sincere belief that excellence from this hub will reverberate across the country and beyond,” she said.

The Commissioner for Women Affairs, Opeyemi Afolashade, described the initiative as an opportunity for women to transform ideas into enterprises, skills into wealth and potentials into progress.

Ms Afolashade commended the governor’s wife for her interventions in gender equity and economic empowerment, noting that thousands of women across the 16 local government areas had benefited from grants, agricultural inputs, start-up tools and vocational training through the Ajike People Support Centre.

She also recalled Mrs AbdilRazaq’s advocacy alongside Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq for the enactment of the Kwara State Gender Equity Bill, describing it as a landmark achievement in promoting gender inclusion.

Also, the Commissioner for Communications, Bolanle Olukoju, said the centre would enable women to acquire ICT skills, explore new economic opportunities, build businesses and attain financial independence.

Similarly, the Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Lawal Olohungbebe, urged women to embrace information technology, describing it as one of the major economic resources of the present generation.

Mr Olorungbebe encouraged women to take advantage of the facility, acquire relevant digital skills and position themselves for opportunities in the technology-driven economy.

“Women should be well equipped so that they can live independently and not live as parasites,” he said.

The centre was facilitated through the advocacy of the first lady and supported by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) to promote digital inclusion, skills development and economic empowerment among women in the state. 

(NAN)