Phase3 Telecom Boss Advocates Grants Support for Girls, Women in ICT

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Phase3 Telecom, one of West Africa’s largest independent fibre optic infrastructure and telecommunications service provider, Mr. Stanley Jegede, has advocated that both local and international grants be given to support girls and women to help them develop technology skills for national development.

The CEO while speaking to the media on the 2018 girls for ICT initiative of ITU, said there is need to raise more awareness to encourage girls and women to give priority attention to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and life long career in ICTs.

He underscores that Africa’s rapid socio-economic development and sustainability depends on digitalized training as well as developing technology skills for girls and women.

On grant to support girls and and women, he said: “Phase3 Telecom will continue to aggressively offer grant support to programs and initiatives targeted at advocating, engendering as well as promoting sustainable and active engagement of girls and women in the ICT space.

The ICT guru, said that in addition to its network of over 14 ICTs focused grant recipients, the firm will be collaborating with Django Girls Abuja: a budding non-profit and community relations organization that empowers girls and women to take on full career options in ICTs through free yet resource based technology and programming workshops.

The drive to increase its network of ICT related NGO partnerships, according to Jegede rides on Phase3’s commitment to marking the globally celebrated annual International Girls in ICT Day with CSR programs that are measurable, impact driven, sustainable and do have transformational effects on the livelihood of Nigerian youths especially girls who are often disadvantaged and underrepresented in the socio-economic strata.

He maintains that this and building a crop of young Nigerian and indeed African girls to actively participate and compete in the evolving as well as innovative global ICT space; is the basis for Phase3 Telecom’s commitment to supporting the International Girls in ICT day initiative.

In his commendation of Django Girls in the area of training girls to build web applications, he expressed optimism that the global evolution will gain greater influence in Africa as more and more institutions and agencies advocate ICT skills for women on the continent.

According to him, African girls must be encouraged early to see the advantages and dividends of the dynamic and fast evolving ICT sector.

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