In an exciting and forwarding thinking program, The Hunger Project in partnership with BLUETOWN and the Microsoft Airband Initiative is bringing the Internet to 6,000 women in Ghana.
The gender digital divide blocks more than two billion women from accessing agriculture, health, education and civic engagement opportunities and solutions – and the divide is only getting worse: women are, on average, 14% less likely to own mobile phones than their male counterparts, and 43% less likely to engage online. This is why we’re excited to announce the launch of a pilot program to close the gender digital divide in rural Ghana.
In partnership with BLUETOWN and the U.S. Agency for International Development and with support from Microsoft’s Airband Initiative, the pilot program will provide access to information about education, agriculture, health, government initiatives, finance and business management and create opportunities for women to be active members of the digital economy.
Reliable Internet connectivity will sustainably increase women’s economic opportunities and eliminate barriers to women’s digital inclusion in three Hunger Project epicentres in Eastern Ghana. This will connect around 6,000 women to vital resources and knowledge that they will utilize to create waves of lasting development in their communities.
The collaboration will utilise BLUETOWN’s successful rural connectivity model, The Hunger Project’s proven programs, methodologies and educational content, and the technical expertise and scale of Microsoft’s staff and operations. To ensure rapid adoption of digital services, the project will leverage the already-mobilized communities at the heart of The Hunger Project’s epicentre strategy. Women in the communities will be trained as digital operators to manage the internet cafés, encouraging women’s participation in the digital community and creating micro-entrepreneurial opportunities.
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