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AFCHIX Community Networks: Creating lasting change

Only 45% of men in Africa are using the internet. Taken alone, this figure from a report released last year by the International Telecommunication Union is already cause for concern. Yet, what is even more alarming is that the percentage of African women using the internet is even lower at only 34%.

This means that only around three out of every ten women living in Africa can even attempt to take part in the increasingly digital global economy. The others are left further, and further behind.

Over the past five years, AFCHIX has worked to help close this digital gender gap for some of the women affected by it most severely: those living in rural communities in Africa. As a winner in the first round of the WomenConnect Challenge, launched in 2018 and funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), AFCHIX began work on a project entitled “Scaling Up Women-Led Community Networks for Women’s Prosperity”. During phase one of this project, AFCHIX worked with four rural communities in Kenya, Senegal, Namibia, and Morocco to install communications infrastructure and connect several schools and a limited number of households to the internet.

When AFCHIX was chosen as a winner of the third round of the Challenge, it was able to implement a second phase of the project, this time specifically addressing the theme “Women-enabled in the Economy”. The project identified and customised digital skills and literacy training programmes for women and ensured that the CNs were transformed into fully functioning internet service providers (ISPs).

Enabling meaningful connectivity

A key part of the second phase of the project was to upgrade and expand the network infrastructure of the CNs to ensure that they could offer connectivity to a greater number of people and could be handed over to community organisations to provide affordable and reliable internet.

The Lanet Umoja Community Network (LUCN) was able to show the most growth throughout the project. At the time of project closure, LUCN had 30 active clients, comprising schools and households making use of fixed internet connections. Just over 1,430 people were accessing the internet using Wi-Fi through LUCN, while the network has the capacity to host a maximum of 2,400 fixed wireless clients in a community of around 48,000 inhabitants. It continues to add new fixed-internet subscribers.

LUCN uses schools as colocation partners and through this agreement, has brought internet connectivity to 8 local schools This has greatly benefitted the schools as they are able to meet the curriculum requirements of the Ministry of Education which has computer studies as one of the subjects learners must complete.

One of the schools benefitting from internet access thanks to the Lanet Umoja Community Network in Kenya.

While CN created in the rural area of Ait Izdeg was not yet able to offer internet services commercially at the end of the project because of local legislation, its installed infrastructure has the potential to serve 1,500 Wi-Fi clients. Ait Izdeg has a population of more than 8,400 people living in 1,503 households. The CN was handed over to a newly formed NGO that will manage it going forward.

The Groot Aub Community Network had 30 individual active users when the project drew to a close. The CN was continuing with the planning process to be able to offer fixed installation which would attract households and businesses. With the added infrastructure, the CN can host a maximum of 300 fixed wireless clients and 640 Wi-Fi clients. Groot Aub has a population of about 6,000 living people living in 1,200 households.

Women in Ait Izdeg, Morocco receiving digital literacy training.

Digital literacy and training

An equally important part of the project was offering customised digital skills and literacy training programs for women within the communities. A lack of digital literacy or confidence to use technology is often cited as a key barrier to closing the digital gender divide. Throughout the project, 850 women and 19 men received training.

The training conducted in Aitz Izdeg was adapted to the needs of the community, which largely consists of farmers. Sessions on how to manage a farming cooperative were added and as a result, the women who participated have now formed a new cooperative to sell the products they produce.  Some women also chose to continue beyond learning basic digital literacy and take part in digital marketing training and are now using Facebook to market and sell their products. AFCHIX even organised an exhibition event in Tetouan to give the cooperatives a platform to showcase their products.

The CN training and internet provision in Groot Aub has likewise enabled participants to learn how to create social media pages to market their small business by helping to create pages for their business and use them for marketing. The training also included teaching participants how to use email and the basics of using Microsoft Word and PowerPoint, helping them to create a Curriculum Vitae to help them when job hunting.  

Ultimately, the training resulted in a cadre of women who had been empowered to have access to information, education and economic resources to participate in the digital space and open up opportunities for employment, business, and social engagement.

A new mast installed to extend the reach of the community network in Groot Aub, Namibia.

Empowering women to lead

AFCHIX’s gender-sensitive approach to creating CNs meant that these networks were designed to be led by women at the grassroots. The CNs were intentionally led by women to expose them to leadership roles, proving to their communities and themselves that women can use technology and even take the lead in connecting their communities. AFCHIX provided tools, mentoring, capacity-building and leadership training sessions to help enhance the women’s confidence and skills before the CNs were handed over to the local communities at the end of the project.

Through the creation of these CNs, AFCHIX has helped to plant the seeds of an entrepreneurship ecosystem, previously unimaginable for women in rural communities. By leveraging community networks and digital training, we have unlocked opportunities for women, allowing them to build skills, access resources, and generate revenue. This has not only contributed to individual growth but also positively impacted the local economy.

As we hand each of these networks over to the communities that helped us to create them, we hope that the equipment now present and visible in these communities does more than facilitate internet connectivity. We hope that they will also serve as symbols of lasting change and reminders of just how much women can achieve in given an enabling environment.

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From the field: Bringing connectivity to Groot Aub

From the field: Bringing connectivity to Groot Aub

“I wouldn’t really call us a town,” says Ghillian Bock, AFCHIX Project Coordinator, about the small Namibian community of Groot Aub. Located about 50 km from the country’s capital Windhoek, Groot Aub is home to about 14,000 people. Its remote, rural location means that jobs are scarce here, keeping household incomes low.

While Africa has experienced a boom in internet connectivity in recent decades, communities like Groot Aub have often been left behind. Commercial internet service providers do not always find it viable to enter remote areas and when they do, the cost of data and devices means that some community members remain excluded. And the persistent digital gender divide means that those excluded are most likely to be women. In Groot Aub, AFCHIX is helping to close this gap.

When Wi-fi hotspots became available at the local school and council building in Groot Aub, teenagers would stay close to the building to use it – even at night. “The kids would stay out in the street after dark just to use the internet, which is not safe in our community, especially for girls. So, one of the things we wanted to achieve with a community network was to also bring safe internet access to the community that they can use in their homes.”

In a community where incomes are low and local job opportunities are almost non-existent, cost matters a great deal. “Most of our customers are students in school, who pay a fee per day to access the internet,” Ghillian explains.

The Groot Aub Community Network started with a single network node when a fourth-year university student looked for a way to connect his community to the internet. Today it has grown into a community network consisting of five network towers able to reach 500 households.

The community network received a critical boost in 2018 thanks to funding from Internet Society’s Community Network Development Assistance Programme Africa. It was also chosen as one of the sites for AFCHIX’s community network project as part of the WomenConnect Challenge, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Earlier this year, the network could take another significant step forward thanks to the deployment of new equipment as part of the second phase of the project. The network added a fifth mast and now boasts five network towers powered by solar panels. It has an uplink of 6 Mbps but plans are underway to upgrade the capacity to 50 Mbps. The upgrades mean that the network can serve both fixed wireless clients and more public Wi-Fi users.

The digital literacy training AFCHIX offers community members as part of the project is also helping to empower local women. Ghillian says the prospect of becoming more employable if they are computer literate is a big drawcard for young people taking part in the training. The training includes teaching participants how to use email and the basics of using Microsoft Word and PowerPoint. They learn how to create a Curriculum Vitae to help them when job hunting.  

“Young people today are using smartphones, so they catch on to the training quickly. But they need something a little more formal than just using a phone to help them when looking for jobs. This is crucial empowerment for women in our community as there is nowhere you can go today where you don’t need to use technology.”

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#IWD2023: Equal opportunities are not enough

#EmbraceEquity. The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day (IWD) could not be more fitting to highlight the global digital gender gap and the need for gender-sensitive approaches in calls for universal connectivity.

The IWD campaign page gives a simple, yet powerful explanation of why equal opportunities for women are not enough: “People start from different places.” While equality speaks to ensuring that everyone has the same resources, equity focuses on reaching the same outcome. If our goal is to ensure that everyone – regardless of their gender or the country or village they live in – can use and benefit from the internet, equal access is not enough.

The AFCHIX team taking part in the #EmbraceEquity campaign.

According to a recent report by the International Telecommunication Union, 69% of men around the world use the internet compared to 63% of women. In least-developed countries (which include African nations such as Senegal, Uganda, Zambia and Tanzania) fewer people from both genders access the internet, but the gap between them widens considerably. Here, only 43% of men use the internet and only 30% of women.

A lack of access to internet connectivity – and especially meaningful connectivity – is without a doubt a big contributor to these figures. But even if revolutionary new technology could suddenly beam Wi-Fi to every rural village around the world, many women would remain excluded. The digital gender gap is more nuanced than connectivity issues. It is held in place by social norms, culture, and deeply entrenched broader issues of gender equality in household workloads, access to education or basic literacy, and economic opportunities. For example, social norms often dictate whether women can gain access to devices in their family unit or if girls are allowed to attend school.

AFCHIX’s gender-sensitive approach to developing community networks has shown us that addressing social norms is critical to get women online. Addressing the digital gender gap must start with engaging communities and community leaders on these norms and educating communities about the benefits of the internet. In addition, a lack of confidence among women in their ability to use technology is a key barrier, with many women also believing that the internet is irrelevant to them or would be dangerous or improper for them to use.

This means that digital literacy training that demystifies the internet and shows women how it can benefit them is crucial to ensuring that internet connectivity has a real impact on women’s lives. Another important aspect of digital literacy training is educating women on how to go online safely and protect themselves against cybercrime, bullying and harassment.

At the same time, AFCHIX’s broader activities have also shown us that this lack of confidence also applies to young African women and girls as they consider whether to pursue STEM or any tech-related field of study or as a career. Women account for just 19.9% of science and engineering professionals around the globe and are likely even more poorly represented in Africa. We have found that addressing self-confidence in girls about their own abilities to pursue these fields and highlighting successful women in the field as role models is crucial, for example, to ensure that girls take part in tech education and training programmes. 

The difference between equality and equity is often illustrated by showing people of different heights trying to look over a high fence. In this metaphor, equality is when everyone is given the same box to stand on. This leaves those who are shorter still stuck behind the fence. Equity ensures that everyone can see over the fence by giving those who are shorter more boxes to stand on – more resources and more support. In the case of the digital gender gap, women do not only need more boxes. They must first be convinced that they can, in fact, climb onto the box placed in front of them. That they can, and should, stand up.  

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2023: Celebrating a new year with gratitude for successes

Each new year brings with it the opportunity for a fresh start. The idea of a new beginning is so inspiring, that we cannot help but feel more hopeful and optimistic about the year ahead. But before the final glow of festive cheers fades away, it is also important to look back at what we have learned and accomplished in the previous twelve months.

AFCHIX is privileged to be able to look back on 2022 with great gratitude. Thanks to the persistence of our volunteers, the determination of the women in the communities we work in, and the support of our partners we can celebrate another successful year. As an organisation, AFCHIX was excited to launch our new website, logo, and brand identity in 2022 while our community networks, continuing their work under the WomenConnect Challenge, have also continued to connect and inspire more women.   

In the Lanet Umoja community in Kenya, we were proud to begin the second phase of the project deployment. This included the installation of a new 30m tall mast at a local church and other equipment to expand the network, including adding a public Wifi hotspot. The network continues to add new fix subscribers and has brought internet connectivity to 8 local schools. “We are proud to see how the education system has changed with the internet connections we have brought to schools. The students, especially the young ones, can embrace technology better as they learn to use it,” says Mariah Njuguna, AFCHIX Project Coordinator in Kenya.

Mariah adds that the training and activities conducted as part of the project, which included teaching women how to use a Wifi internet and open email accounts, have also helped to empower women in the community. “Women and girls have become bolder in facing the tech world.”

Dr Houda Chakiri, AFCHIX Project Coordinator in Morocco, says the digital literacy and marketing training conducted in the Aitz Izdeg community has also helped the women there to overcome some of their fears. The training conducted in Aitz Izdeg included sessions on how to manage a cooperative and as a result, the women who participated have now formed a new cooperative to sell the products they produce. Thanks to digital marketing training, they are also using Facebook to market and sell these products.

AFCHIX organised an exhibition event in Tetouan to give the cooperatives a platform to showcase their products. For some participants, this event meant travelling outside of their native village for the first time. “After completing AFCHIX’s digital literacy and marketing training, the women travelled to sell their products and overcame their fear of facing clients. This was our biggest achievement,” Houda says.

Ghillian Bock, AFCHIX Project Coordinator in Namibia, says the Groot Aub community network offered digital literacy training in 2022 and is planning to install new equipment in the coming year. “In 2022, we put up an extra mast, which is something that we really are proud of. We also managed to register the network as an NGO and opened our first IT- hub.”

Much of the research and information AFCHIX shares, focuses on highlighting just how pervasive the digital gender gap is and how urgently it needs to be addressed. We recognise that although it is a global phenomenon, distinctly local approaches and efforts are critical to closing it. It requires educating communities, winning support from local leaders, and inspiring women to reach further than what they had always believed to be their potential. This takes time. It cannot be done overnight or even within a few months.

Therefore, at the start of 2023, AFCHIX is both grateful and proud that this year is not a completely new beginning. In 2023, we look forward to building on the hard work and progress we have already made. We celebrate every small success, every task completed, and most importantly, every life that our work has managed to touch. And for this reason, we start the new year inspired to do even more.

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From the field: Education and social norms in Morocco

Aziza was only going to serve the tea. But when she saw what other women were learning during AFCHIX’s digital literacy training sessions, she knew she had to join in. So, instead of waiting to provide the refreshments during training breaks, she sat down behind a computer herself. “The workshops enabled me to enter the world of computers in order to understand how they work and to know the different software and applications such as text editing, spreadsheets, and web browsers,” she now eagerly says about her new skills.

Aziza lives in the rural Moroccan community of Ait Izdeg, where AFCHIX is implementing one of four community network projects through the WomenConnect Challenge, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). A wife and mother of three daughters, she aspires to start her own business despite only a primary school education. “The internet will help me develop my way of working and identify new customers,” she says.

Like many women in rural – and even urban – communities in Africa, Aziza was simply not aware of the benefits that learning to use the internet could bring her as a mother or an entrepreneur. A lack of awareness of the potential benefit of being online is one of the key factors contributing to the digital gender divide. Often, women do not feel the need to learn to use the internet because they do not believe that it can add any value to their lives. They simply do not believe that the web can offer any information of interest to them – a perception that is only reinforced by limited relevant content in local languages. 

However, a lack of awareness is arguably the best-case scenario for convincing women – and others in their communities – that they can benefit from the internet. In many communities, social norms dictate that technology and internet use is not just irrelevant to women but in fact inappropriate or immoral. As a result, changing social norms and cultural perceptions is one of the proven strategies to close the digital divide identified by USAID, citing the importance of working on perceptions with those frequently in power, such as community and religious leaders.

A USAID Desk Review also argues that internet access and use follow broader social patterns, echoing the deep social and cultural exclusion of women. One aspect of life where this is most clearly visible is the difference in access to education – and subsequent ability to earn income – between men and women. Gendered inequalities mean that women, like Aziza, are more likely than men to be illiterate or have only limited levels of education. Although a recent report by the Moroccan High Commission for Planning (HCP) stated that 90.5% of Moroccan girls aged 15 to 17 attended schools in urban areas, this figure drops to 39.2% for girls in rural areas. 

These inequalities are then replicated in the digital space as a lack of education makes it more likely that women will also lack the digital skills or confidence needed to use technology and the internet. For example, the Web Foundation found that in both Africa and Asia, women who have some secondary education are six times more likely to be online than women with only primary education or less. The interplay between social norms, access to education and underlying gender inequality means that efforts to close the digital gender divide cannot only focus on adult women but must also include girls. 

The safe environment created by the AFCHIX training sessions meant Aziza felt comfortable enough to bring her young daughter along, introducing her to computers as well. According to UNICEF, children living in today’s world need to be digitally literate to fully participate in digital life and to be safe online. Digital literacy training can help to teach parents how to allow and support their daughters to do this and in Aziza’s case, provide her daughters with a role model proving that women are more than capable of learning to use technology and empowering themselves in other ways. “My ambition is to raise my daughters well. “I want to develop my cooking, confectionery, and marketing capabilities and start a pastry catering business.”

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Who or what is really keeping women offline?

“Empowered women are frightening,” jokes Dr Revi Sterling, Director of the WomenConnect Challenge. But behind the jest, she explains, is a serious issue. Cultural and social norms remain one of the biggest barriers to women accessing and learning to use technology that could improve their lives. 

Sterling discussed some of the causes – and effective strategies to address – the digital gender divide during a USAID Women’s Economic Empowerment Community of Practice webinar earlier this year. She says the WomenConnect Challenge has identified the importance of addressing social norms and gaining community support as critical to the success of any project to introduce women to technology. “If we look at the millions of women who are still offline, it is their communities that are keeping them offline. Because we know that empowered women are terrifying to the status quo.”

Dr Revi Sterling

“If we look at the millions of women who are still offline, it is their communities that are keeping them offline. Because we know that empowered women are terrifying to the status quo.”

She also warned that in contrast to the progress observed in recent years, it now appears that the adoption of mobile internet among women is stalling. According to the GSMA Mobile Gender Gap Report 2022, released in June, the mobile internet gender gap in low-income countries had been diminishing every year from 2017 to 2020, when it narrowed to 15%. In 2021, however, this trend appears to have changed with the gap widening back to 16%. In sub-Saharan Africa, it has remained stuck at a stubbornly high 37%. 

Sterling sees this trend as a reflection of a broader deterioration in gender parity around the world. “Women’s rights are being pushed back and we are also seeing this in the tech space. There should be a force multiplier between women, tech, and development. Together tech and women should be a force to be reckoned with, but instead, there is this mismatch.” 

She says the work of organisations supported by WomenConnect, including AFCHIX, has also shown how social norms play into the views women have about themselves and their own abilities to use technology. As a result, women show interest in technology but projects that allow them to access it have little uptake. “Some of these women will say things like: ‘I am too dumb to use technology’ or ‘I am not one of those women, I am not advanced.’ We hear a lot of this self-deprecation, and we almost need a form of pre-digital literacy training to address this.”

Sterling adds that greater effort and support are needed to address the social and cultural dimensions of the digital gender divide as this is often overlooked in favour of projects to provide connectivity or devices to communities. “No one wants to fund the work on the hard stuff, on the social and cultural dimensions. Everyone wants to fund the technology.”

“No one wants to fund the work on the hard stuff, on the social and cultural dimensions. Everyone wants to fund the technology.”

AFCHIX’s community network model not only provides affordable connectivity to rural communities but places extensive focus on community involvement and cultural dimensions. We use a gender-sensitive approach to the installation and management of community networks that includes the direct and continuous involvement of community leaders. 

We use community engagement and training sessions focused on addressing negative social norms around internet use and creating awareness of the benefits of the internet. The rollout of community networks is combined with digital literacy training programmes that provide a safe space for women to engage with technology. Our approach helps women to overcome their lack of confidence in using technology as well as the cultural barriers in their communities. 

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Change the talk, challenge the norms, celebrate the successes

Doreen Bogdan-Martin made history at the end of September this year when she became the first woman to lead the International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) since the organisation was first established over 150 years ago. 

Bogdan-Martin’s appointment is worth celebrating and has been lauded as an important milestone for gender inclusion in the global tech space. Over the past several years, the tech industry seems to have tried to put more effort into promoting and increasing diversity. But are these initiatives working? In many aspects, it seems the answer is no. No, things aren’t really getting any better. 


Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Secretary General of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).

Are there more girls in ICT?

According to UNESCO, women represent only 35% of all students enrolled in STEM-related fields of study. The WEF Global Gender Gap Report 2021, found that gender gaps are more likely in fields that require disruptive technical skills. For example, women make up just 14% of the workforce in Cloud Computing, 20% of the workforce in Engineering, and 32% of the workforce in Data and AI.

These figures are all the more meaningful considering Dell’s prediction that 85% of jobs in 2030 don’t exist yet and will derive from new technologies. In this context, it is more important than ever to enable and empower women to enter the ICT industry. “All over the world, girls and young women want to join the digital revolution. To put it simply: tech needs girls, and girls need tech,” Bogdan-Martin, said a few months before her election.

She is right, of course. We urgently need to address negative perceptions around women in technology that perpetuate both their own lack of confidence in their abilities to pursue work in this field and the prejudices of others. Gender stereotypes and social norms are significant barriers to girls accessing or choosing education in STEM and ICT.

According to ITU’s latest data, 57% of women globally use the internet compared to 62% of men. “If women are unable to access the internet and do not feel safe online, they are unable to develop the necessary digital skills and engage in digital spaces, which diminishes their opportunities to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) related fields,” ITU explained in a statement on their website in celebration of the organisation’s annual International Girls in ICT Day.

Gender stereotypes often make girls believe that they do not belong in the tech space – despite the many amazing women scholars and entrepreneurs who have proven otherwise. If we equip more women with digital skills and training, we can help to address the negative social norms and build women’s confidence in their own abilities and potential.

How AFCHIX community networks are helping

AFCHIX’s mission is to provide opportunities, mentorship, and capacity building, and to inspire young women through role modelling. We have hosted many workshops, seminars, and conferences to inspire girls to join careers in ICT and create a support network for African women already working in this field. Together with our partners, AFCHIX is also creating opportunities for rural women in Senegal, Morocco, Kenya, and Namibia to run local internet service providers through establishing community networks. These networks also provide women access to digital training in a safe environment.

Community networks are a holistic approach to digital inclusion. They are people-driven networks deployed, operated, and maintained by communities in a way that aligns with their local needs and priorities. This is critical as girls and women need the support and empowerment of their communities if they are ever to thrive in STEM and ICT. When girls can safely access and explore the digital world, they can start to imagine future STEM careers, ICT education, and futures in technology for themselves.

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AFCHIX celebrates new look and website

Inspiration.

Connection.

Community.

With these three words to summarise our very reason for existing, AFCHIX proudly launched our new website and logo. Our refreshed brand will undoubtedly go a long way in helping AFCHIX to continue to grow and mature as an organisation. But as we celebrate a new look, it was also important to us to our roots and identity.

Over the past 18 years, AFCHIX has grown as an organisation thanks to the support of a wide community of funders, volunteers, and extraordinary women in tech. Through their efforts, AFCHIX has reached over 17,000 girls through mentoring and events, facilitated Wi-fi internet access for over 670 people through our community network infrastructure, connected 10 rural schools to the internet, and empowered over 870 women through digital literacy and technical training.

AFCHIX’s new logo personifies these African women that have built our organisation, the women who have taken part in or benefitted from our activities, as well as those we hope will join us in the future. By including a winding cable, we want to give a nod to technology as the common factor binding our members together.

Our new tagline summarises AFCHIX’s key objective: We want to create: Inspiration, connection, and community. AFCHIX aspires to create and maintain a community of women in tech on the continent that can support each other, inspire more women and girls to enter the field and mobilise to provide the skills and resources needed to address the digital gender divide faced by women at the grassroots.

We chose organic tones for the colours of the new website to signify growth and deliberately steered clear of overtly feminine colours like bright pink and red, creating an updated take on the original logo colour palette.  Our goal was to create a logo that is inclusive and sophisticated to represent AFCHIX as a credible and professional organisation implementing development programmes. We also avoid typical tech colours like greys and blues as AFCHIX is firstly focused on people and creating a space where women feel safe and welcome.

While gender equality in the tech space and other fields has certainly improved in the years since AFCHIX was formed, there is still much work to be done. Entrenched gender norms continue to maintain the exclusion of African women from the digital realm at multiple levels. Gender stereotypes, discrimination, and a lack of confidence keep urban and educated girls and women from pursuing careers in the tech sector or advancing to leadership positions. For girls and women living in poor and rural communities, these same challenges manifest as exclusion from access to devices or meaningful connectivity, opportunities to gain basic digital literacy or any real benefit from being online.

AFCHIX is excited about the potential to use our website, social media channels, and this blog as a powerful communications platform to help address these challenges. We believe that by using these tools, we will not only be able to showcase our work but to actively contribute to our goals of inspiring girls and women to enter the tech space and advocating to close the digital gender gap.

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From the field: The importance of digital literacy in getting women online

By Mari Blumenthal

“I have a normal mobile phone that does not have internet service, but at home, my son has a smartphone with internet access. I use it when he is home,” says Fatima, a 54-year-old mother and housewife about how she can use the internet.

Fatima is one of about 60 women taking part in a series of digital literacy workshops hosted by AfChix as part of its community network project in Ait Izdeg, a rural community in Morocco. Ait Izdeg is one of four community network projects AfChix is implementing as one of the winners of the third round of the WomenConnect Challenge, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

However, Fatima’s shares the same reality as millions of other women. According to the GSMA Mobile Gender Gap Report released in 2021, women in low and middle-income countries are 7% less likely to own any kind of mobile phone than men and 15% less likely to own a smartphone. Instead, they tend to rely on sharing or borrowing smartphones from other – mostly male – members of their household.

Mobile ownership is already a key challenge in overcoming the gender digital divide but also contributes to another challenge in getting women online. A lack of regular access to a smartphone also means that women do not get the opportunity to familiarise themselves with these devices or to gain confidence in using them. The same GSMA report also found that female mobile users surveyed are less likely than male users to feel confident performing a new task on a phone by themselves.

A desk review report on the Gender Digital Divide released by USAID in 2021, highlights that digital literacy and skills are rapidly emerging as one of the biggest barriers facing women, especially in achieving online access. USAID defines digital literacy as including both the skills to functionally be able to use the internet and digital technologies, as well as the knowledge of how to do so safely, securely, and with trusted information and protected data.

Dr Houda Chakiri, the Project Coordinator for the Ait Izdeg community network, says many women in the community there do not feel confident in using digital devices. “The majority of women in the community are digitally illiterate and, therefore, we had to start our training there. They say that [the internet] is for young people or that it is not for them. They fear technology.”

The current series of training workshops offer women a safe environment in which to learn basic digital skills such as how to use a search engine or to create and delete files on a computer. The project will later add courses in Digital Marketing to help women build on their newly acquired skills.

Thanks to the training, Fatima says she now uses her son’s phone to communicate with members of her women’s cooperative and has realised how valuable the internet can be for searching for information. “I have already searched for information about preparing jam, raising bees, and growing culinary herbs,” she says.

Most of the women taking part in the training range from 25 to 60 years in age. At 68 years old, Isa might seem an unlikely attendee at a digital literacy training course. But she also runs a successful women’s cooperative and recognises that being online could help her grow its markets. “I am here to learn how to manage and market products and I think that using ICT will help me in my cooperative affairs and in learning new things in a more structured way,” she says.

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AfChix wins USAID support to help “Tweeting Chief’s” community to connect themselves to the internet

by Vymala Thuron and Mari Blumenthal

The next phase of a project previously championed by Lanet-Umoja’s well-known “Tweeting Chief, the late Francis Kariuki, will soon see this rural community connecting an increasing number of paying subscribers to the internet through a network managed from within its own ranks.   

 

As one of the winners in the third round of the WomenConnect Challenge, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), AfChix is expanding the community network it has previously established in Lanet-Umoja. WomenConnect is a global call for solutions to improve women’s participation in everyday life by meaningfully changing the ways women access and use technology. 

 

As a winner in the first round of the Challenge in 2018, AfChix reached out to Chief Kariuki, by then well-known for using Twitter to communicate with his community on especially safety matters, to gain local support to install communications infrastructure in Lanet-Umoja. The project has since connected seven schools in the area to the internet, trained women leaders on using the internet for business, and offered vital training to the community to maintain the network and develop a sustainable business model to manage it.

 

Irene Misoi, the Project Coordinator, says the project aims to connect underserved communities in Kenya to the internet through a model that is sustainable over the long term. “We developed a billing system using Mpesa to allow subscribers to sign up to the network and pay for connectivity to ensure that the community can generate to pay for bandwidth and equipment and to maintain and expand the network. Over the next 18 months, we plan to help the  trained community leaders to expand the subscriber base to over 1000, as well as to set up an ICT centre to serve Lanet-Umoja and neighbouring communities.”

 

Irene-Misoi
Irene Misoi, Project Coordinator

 

Misoi says the COVID-19 pandemic has also made the need to close the digital gender divide, which refers to the global phenomenon that women are less likely than men to be able to access and use digital technology, even more urgent. A World Bank survey among firms in 18 countries in sub-Saharan Africa showed that 22% of respondents either started or increased their use of digital platforms, social media, and the internet in response to the pandemic.

 

“As a result, African women could increasingly be left out from accessing education, financial services, work opportunities and information that could enhance their lives. This project hopes to help to address this by providing women with digital skills and the opportunity to interact with technology in a safe space, enabling them to benefit from the services and economic opportunities of this new digital era, ” she concludes.