Orange Botswana has invited non-governmental organisations to support the roll out of Digital Centres mandated to empower female technologists and entrepreneurs.

The company has set a deadline of March to have the support in place to back these centres and believes the initiative will help address the demand for digital skills and help combat gender inequality in the industry.

Nene Maiga, CEO, Orange Botswana said, “It (the Digital Centre) aims to empower economically vulnerable women by providing them with training in digital technology and use of software, financial management and entrepreneurship.”

Maiga added that the initiative is designed to deliver ICT literacy, micro-entrepreneurial skills and relevant training modules to women in disadvantaged situations.

Applicants who are successful in their bid to run and/or support these centres will receive digital centre kits valued at €5, 847. These kits are the property of the Centres and include ten laptops, twenty tablets, a server, video projector as well as USB sticks.

To date, Orange - via its subsidiaries - has financed 362 Women Digital Centres, operating in 23 countries.

The company adds that 45 000 women have benefited from the initiative and are from Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Madagascar, DRC, Senegal, Mali, Guinea Conakry, Guinea Bissau, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Central Africa Republic, Botswana, Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt and Jordan.