By Abdi Ali
Published March 19, 2022
Allianz, an insurance and asset management company, has partnered with a non-governmental organisation called Dynamiques et Excellences d’Afrique (DynExcAfrica) in order to raise awareness of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) among girls in Ivory Coast and to train them in emerging digital professions such as piloting drones, robotics and digital programming.
At the launch of this programme, Delphine Traoré, Regional CEO of Allianz Africa, declared: “With a presence of more than a century on the continent, we are well aware of the role of women in securing the future of Africa. This is why Allianz has supported the dynamic and excellent African woman through this program, thus reaffirming its commitment to an Africa where all energies contribute to development.”
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Though the mastery of Information and Communication Technology(ICT) is essential to access the labour market a study by the company Code Day that promotes greater accessibility of populations to ICTs in collaboration with Simplon CI school of enthusiasts of web professions shows that IT developers in Côte d’Ivoire were 95% men.
This digital divide is even more salient in rural areas where girls have virtually no access to technology.
It is to overcome this imbalance that DynExcAfrica works to instill a culture of excellence in girls and women and to reduce the digital gender divide. Through the STEM Girls Côte d’Ivoire project, the NGO encourages women in disadvantaged neighborhoods and rural areas to embrace STEM education and training.
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“In an increasingly competitive world where STEM holds a place of honor, unfortunately very few women and young girls are interested in these fields, for individual, social, cultural reasons or simply, for lack of opportunities. Allianz has decided to support us in preparing this generation of competent and competitive young girls and women to contribute to the inclusive and sustainable development of our Africa,” says Fognon Maïmouna Koné, Founder and General Coordinator ofDynExcAfrica.
René Megela, Expert of the GIZ Business and Cooperation Office in Côte d’Ivoire, confirms the interest of the German development organization for this program with a strong social and economic impact. “Digital education and in all areas of technology in general is one of the most important levers of socio-economic development in Africa,” he says.
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Each of the major axes of this partnership has been designed to create a concrete beneficial effect for young girls and entrepreneurs, direct targets of this project, as well as for their communities:
- DynExcAfrica STEM Tour: A program aimed at raising awareness and introducing 500 young girls in Abidjan and 1,000 others in rural areas to STEM. It consists of introducing them to subjects related to STEM, carrying out practical coding exercises, leading a robotics workshop and finally presenting projects developed by the young learners
- Girls STEM Academy: An introduction each year to 75 young middle school and high school girls, including 25 from disadvantaged neighborhoods of Abidjan and 50 from rural areas of Côte d’Ivoire, in computer tools, programming, coding, robotics and drones, for 3 to 6 months
- Young Women Digital Program: A 3-month program designed to build the capacities of 50 female students, young women looking for work or undergoing retraining and young female entrepreneurs, including 25 living in urban areas and 25 in rural areas. This training will allow them to strengthen their mastery of IT and collaborative tools while developing their skills in digital professions.