Silicon Valley women gurus inspire Rwandans

Kigali will early next month host women representatives from 20 leading Silicon Valley based tech companies in the United States. Based in San Francisco, Sillicon Valley is the home to most of the global IT brands and among those coming to Rwanda include; Twitter, Cisco, Intel, EMC and Symantec.The close to 40 women will be in the country for a ‘women in technology exclusive cocktail’ on February 3, organised by Tech Women and the ICT chamber of the Private Sector Federation.The same event will mark the launch of Techgirls Mentorship Programme, an initiative aimed at reaching out to school going girls in an effort to bridge the gender gap in Science, Technology, Engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.Under the theme: “Closing the gap in STEM fields in Rwanda,” the event will also be attended by professionals from the private and public sector and members of the civil society. Speaking to The New Times, Angel Bisamaza, a member of Tech Women and one of the organisers of the event,said the Silicon Valley representatives’ presence at the programme’s launch will leverage the name and role of women in Technological advancement.“The programme’s goal is to bring together women in Science, Technology, engineering and Mathematics fields to empower and act as role models to the young women with interest in the sector. We want to use the session to reach out to school-going girls and expose them to opportunities in the sector,” Bisamaza said.The visit, by representatives of Silicon Valley firms comes after an interactive programme where 78 participants from 16 African countries were hosted in various Silicon Valley-based firms to work on projects as part of industrial training.“We hope to have an established network of women who will meet regularly and have activities geared at increasing girls and women participation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics fields,” Bisamaza said.She said they plan to conduct countrywide school visits to give girls an insight into STEM as well as visit firms involved in science and technology,” Bisamaza said.The event, which will also feature a networking session, could also see the Silicon Valley representatives partner with members of tech women on projects.“There are possibilities of partnerships emerging from the networking sessions and participants working together in the future,” Bisamaza said.Alex Ntale, the Director of The PSF ICT chamber said efforts to bring more girls on board in science and technology would play a role in the second phase of EDPRS, whose focus is to improve the quality of life for all Rwandans and move the country from a low income to a middle income economy as well as enhance the role of the private sector in economic growth.“A private sector driven economy requires a balanced representation of both male and female which can only happen if we start empowerment at the grassroots. We want Rwanda to be an innovation hub and a centre of excellence,” Ntale said.Ntale added that ICT being a cross-cutting field requires gender balance across sectors and fields to increase Rwanda’s innovative competitiveness.“ICT attracts many learners’ interests but it is important to come up with ways to strike a balance and bridge gender gaps through fields that will increase Rwanda’s innovative competitiveness,” he said.Commenting on the development, Gender and Family Promotion minister Oda Gasinzigwa said the move by women in STEM to reach out to girls is commendable and will have visible impacts.“It is a milestone to have such initiatives and Rwandan women initiating such programmes and ideas and trying to reach out to the girls. Such an initiative will go along way in introducing school-going girls to the opportunities and possibilities available out there,” Gasinzigwa said.

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Silicon Valley women gurus inspire Rwandans