The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) has held a session entitled “financial inclusion and women’s economic empowerment in the new republic in the digitalization era” in cooperation with the National Council for Women (NCW) at NCW premises in Kafr El-Sheikh.
This came within the framework of resumption of the activities undertaken under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between MCIT and Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate for the community development of citizens using ICT.
The session introduced Qodwa-Tech initiative which aims to empower women economically and socially and identified its role in raising awareness and upskilling the digital capabilities of female entrepreneurs in digital marketing and e-commerce. Qodwa-Tech also aims to prepare qualified calibers of female entrepreneurs to support handicraft and heritage industries through sharing experiences and disseminating Technological Knowledge (TK) to other females to build their digital capabilities, which in turn fosters productivity in society.
The session also discussed financial inclusion as a means to empower citizens economically, especially for women, to obtain digital financial services that suit their needs and achieve their financial goals. This is in addition to empowering female entrepreneurs and owners of Small and Micro-sized Enterprises (SMEs) to obtain finance, and fostering investment, growth and creation of more job opportunities.
The session also tackled Internet safety and how to promote the safe and positive use of technology, especially for children and youth. It also included ways and methods of protection from Internet risks, by developing the digital skills of Egyptian citizens. These digital skills include digital footprint, critical thinking, and overcoming cyberbullying, which children, young people, and women may be exposed to during their use of the digital world; how to manage screen time; and the function of digital identity of citizens to safely help them use the Internet.
More than 120 people attended the activities of the session, including numerous university students and graduates, and a group of female social entrepreneurs in Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate.
