Youths need to strategically position themselves for ICT centric jobs- Technopreneur Gandi-Ndlovu
ZIMBABWEAN Technopreneur Ms Sithabile Gandi-Ndlovu has urged youths to strategically position themselves for future jobs which are likely to be more Information Communication Technology (ICT) centric.
Ms Gandi-Ndlovu is attending the Africa Woman Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIF) 2023 that kicked off yesterday and ends today at the Kigali Convention Centre in Rwanda.
The forum is being held in partnership with Rwanda’s Ministry of ICT and Innovation and Rwanda Convention Bureau.
AWIEF provides a powerful platform showcasing the capacity, talents, and achievements of African women entrepreneurs and innovators.
With the theme, “Leveraging the Power of the Digital Economy: Innovate, Redefine, Empower”; this year’s event aims to boost inclusivity, enhance partnerships, and empower the contributions of women to the digital economy.
Also in attendance at the conference is Zimbabwe’s Minister of ICT, Postal and Courier Services Dr Tatenda Mavetera and senior Government officials.
In an interview from Rwanda with Chronicle Online, Ms Gandi-Ndlovu said a take home from the conference is need for youths to stage themselves in a way that there are employable in the future.
“I personally funded the trip in my capacity as a social entrepreneur who wants to use technology as a catalyst to curb poverty in communities.
“Women and youth are still left behind in the conversations around ICT which is the case for most countries around Africa despite the fact that their population is higher meaning they are the greater population of the working population that needs these skills,” said Ms Gandi-Ndlovu.
“Zimbabwean youths need to strategically position themselves for jobs of the future which will be ICT centric so they need to be skilled in that regard and the Government needs to provide the institutions that skill youth in this regard.”
Ms Gandi-Ndlovu said there’s a need to capacitate young people to be impact entrepreneurs as this in turn will assist them to end inequalities in communities, create jobs and achieve sustainable community development.
“There’s also a need for young people to be involved in growth incubator and accelerator programmes. We need to believe in ourselves as young people and what we are capable of and learn what can be done to improve our country and, in turn, our communities.
“Zimbabwe needs to adopt an accelerated approach to harness the start-up and innovation culture. The reality is the rest of the continent is adopting technology at such a rapid rate across different sectors of economic development and it has become a major factor contributing to economic growth in those countries,” she said.
Ms Gandi-Ndlovu said the Zimbabwean Government has taken significant strides to close the digital divide but there is need to rope in the youth in terms of skilling, reskilling and capacitation to allow them to participate meaningfully in the digital economy with the rest of the world.
“We need to create synergies between the entrepreneurs and the digital space and Government must ensure that the infrastructure is provided to all communities at affordable rates to ensure no one and no place is left behind.
“As women in ICT we have the responsibility to put in the effort to start dialogues around the barriers to our sustainable empowerment and coming up with solutions to these using a collective approach that also includes men,” said Ms Gandi-Ndlovu.-chronicle
