CITAD to train 50 Women and girls on I.C.T in Bauchi

THE Center for Information Technology and Development CITAD is to train 50 young women and girls in Bauchi State on Information Communication Technology, ICT skills under a project known as Digital Livelihood for Young Women and Girls in order to make them self reliant and employers of labour.

The Executive Director of CITAD, Zakari Yahu stated this on Monday during the orientation programme for the second phase of Digital Livelihood for Young Women and Girls with support from Digital Equal Skills Foundation, held at the NUJ press centre in Bauchi.

Represented by the Bauchi State Training Officer, CITAD, Ahmed Yakassai, the Executive Director said that CITAD is a non governmental organisation that seek to empower the lives of its citizens through laudable programmes adding that although the I.C.T world is mostly dominated by men, women and young girls can become internet users to be abreast with modern trends of technology.

He said that “The concept of digital livelihood for Young women was first supported by the United State embassy in Abuja. The idea behind this project is to breach the gender gap among young women and girls.”

“Almost all transactions and business in our modern age is carried out via the Internet, thus denying women and young girls access to the use of the internet is denying them their basic right to information. The training is also geared towards building the capacities of young women and girls to be employable in this digital era,” he also said

In his address, the State Programme Officer, CITAD, Mohammed Ciroms Hassan, said that the training will be done in batches and will last for a month, adding that the women will be trained on how to use the internet to build new businesses and improve existing ones and called on them to committed through our training period.

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Mohammed Chiroma explained that the idea behind the training was to teach women how to use information communication technology to boost their businesses as well as equip them with business skills.

He further said that the participants of the training were drawn from different parts of the state adding that the program would last for a period of one month.

In the same vein, Women engaged in small scale businesses in Bauchi State have been encouraged to apply for soft loans available at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in order to boost such businesses for self-sustenance.

While speaking on Monday during an orientation program for the second phase of Digital Livelihood for Young Women and Girls organised by the Centre for Information Technology And Development (CITAD) held in Bauchi, a Senior Staff of the Bank, Shuaibu Baba Ahmed said that the Bank gives special consideration to women while giving out loans.

According to him, one of the loans being granted by the Bank is Micro Enterprises Development Funds where a beneficiary can access up to the sum of N10 million and repay such in seven years with five per cent interests without any stringent collateral attachment.

He added that applicants do not need to present any collaterals to qualify for the loans but should only introduce a traditional ruler or a clergyman in their areas as a guarantor.

He stated further stated that the Bank also grants agricultural loans to farmers under the Anchor Borrowers’ Program saying the 2019 wet season farm inputs for rice farmers in the state will be launched by it on Tuesday.

The orientation program drew women from NGOs and CSOs that have women as their focus aimed at making them employers of labour rather than dependents on others for something to live on.