By STELLAMARIS ASHINZE

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) on Friday said that reports had shown that younger female entrepreneurs are more educated than their male counterparts.

The Director-General, NITDA, Mr Kashifu Inuwa, said this in his goodwill message at the Women Entrepreneurs and Executives in Tech Summit (WEETS) 2024 in Lagos.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the 2024 WEETS, an annual event, had the theme: ?AI Leadership: Navigating The Future of Women in Business.?

Inuwa said that he had also seen reports that showed that 52.2 per cent of younger female entrepreneurs had at least a bachelor?s degree, compared to 42.8 per cent for males.

Inuwa, who was represented by the Head, Innovation and Digital Inclusion, NITDA, Engr Falilat Jimoh, said that this trend of female entrepreneurship needed to be sustained.

He stressed that women entrepreneurs played very vital roles in job creation, innovation, poverty reduction and human development.

?According to another report, the 2023 State of Entrepreneurship in Nigeria report, 46 per cent of startups in Nigeria are led by females.

?This same report also shares that 43 per cent of businesses are female-led, an increase from 39 per cent in the 2022 report.

?NITDA believes that women are one of the biggest cornerstones of many economies, another cornerstone being youths.

?NITDA recognises the importance of innovations and how imperative it is for women in business to be empowered with the necessary skills,? he said.

According to Inuwa, in NITDA?s Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan 2024 ? 2027 (SRAP 2.0), it had a pillar dedicated to promoting inclusive access to digital infrastructure and services.

He said: ?We have a focus on 40 per cent women participation in all our capacity and skills development initiatives.

?NITDA remains committed to accelerating national progress through a more digitally enabled economy and we believe that the involvement of women plays a vital role in advancing the development of Nigeria?s tech sector.

?Programmes such as our Digital Literacy for All (DL4All) initiative, supports our vision of making Nigeria a digitally empowered nation.?

According to him, the Agency will continue to support the inclusion of women in the Nigerian digital economy.

He said that this was because women created and inspired future technology leaders who would continue to transform the Nigerian tech ecosystem.

Inuwa said that, according to the Global Gender Gap Report of 2023, women make up 30 per cent of the global Artificial Intelligence (AI) workforce.

The director-general added that the same report also shared that women accounted for 39 per cent of all workers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

He noted that to gainfully participate and reap the benefits presented by Nigeria?s digital economy, women must be empowered with the relevant digital skills that would help them impact their communities.

He said that It was also equally important that they are cognisant of the opportunities that existed in utilising AI and other related technologies.

Inuwa said that AI was being integrated into many products and services that is used, adding that it had a place in every sector of the economy.

According to him, Forbes says that the AI market size is expected to reach $407 billion by 2027, up from an estimated $86.9 billion in revenue in 2022.

The director-general said that it could add up to $13 trillion by 2030, and NITDA could leverage this by engaging diverse sectors and promoting entrepreneurship in women.

In her welcome address, the Convener of WEETS, Ms Ugochi Emmanuel, said that at the heart of the summit was the unwavering mission of the WEETS Foundation to empower women and girls.

Emmanuel said that the foundation had continuously sought to bridge the gap between women and the digital economy.

She stressed that the foundation had bridged the gap by equipping women with advanced digital skills, mentorship, and opportunities to thrive in the tech world.

According to her, today is not just a celebration of the achievements of women in tech but a call to action.

Emmanuel said that the future was brimming with opportunities for women to lead in AI and business.

?It is our collective responsibility to ensure that these opportunities are seized and expanded.

?As we continue with today?s discussions, I encourage you to think big, challenge the status quo and build lasting partnerships that will accelerate the impact of women in the tech space,?? the WEETS convener said.

WEETS 2024 is a platform that seeks to highlight opportunities available for women/girls by bridging the digital divide while expanding new ideas on ICT and telecommunications.

It aims at positioning them to effectively play a formidable role in the Nigerian tech space. (NAN)

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