What a man can do, a woman can do better. That saying seems to be one of the driving forces of an Ethiopian tech startup.
Gebeya, which is an Ethiopia-based tech and job placement startup, has embarked on a journey to train 250 female developers in the country.
Already, the firm has signed a $500,000 advisory services agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to carry out the gender-based programme.
According to Gebeya, the initiative aims to solve the issue of inequality in the aspect of innovation and technology.
The company is committed to nurturing and building the untapped tech potential of African youths. Training of young and vibrant minds with technical skills will increase their chances of getting employed. Not only that, but it will also prepare them for the technological skillset demands in the global market.
Following its signed agreement with the IFC, which is a member of the World Bank Group, Gebeya now has sufficient backup to take on the task ahead of it.
After the training of 250 female software developers, Gebeya will provide seed funding to 20 female entrepreneurs whose digital business proposals will be reinforced by the startup.
Furthermore, the selected entrepreneurs will be beneficiaries of strategic and technical advice on business development. Also, they will receive mentorship services worth $50,000 from the IFC.
The training is to take place in the space of four to six months, and Gebeya is tasked with the responsibility of selecting talented candidates worthy of benefiting from the programme.
Commenting, the CEO of Gebeya, Amadou Daffe, said the task ahead of them would help the company broaden its scope beyond the student-based model it operates. ‘’This commitment by IFC in Ethiopia gives us a chance to prioritize female developers across our training modules and mobilize them quickly for the increasing global demand,’’ said Hiruy Amanuel, co-founder of Gebeya.
