Women and digital : a winning duo for Africa !

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African women are world champions in entrepreneurship, with 24% of women of working age involved in starting a business. This is a figure that is unparalleled in the world and contributes 12-14% of the continent's GDP. In order to build on this dynamic, digital technology is today a decisive lever, even though there are many challenges to be met.

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In Africa more than anywhere else, women's entrepreneurship is a fundamental key to the emancipation of women and, more generally, to the economic and social development of a continent where 2 billion people still live below the poverty line (70% of whom are women). The last G7 meeting in Biarritz was not mistaken, as its final communiqué shows: "Promoting women's entrepreneurship is a priority for all of us. African women entrepreneurs are a key driver of sustainable economic growth and broad-based prosperity for the benefit of all. Recognizing that women play an integral role in regional integration, economic growth, social development, prosperity and sustainability, we take note of the African Union Strategy for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (GEWE), which ensures the inclusion of women in Africa's development agenda. »

Challenges

Yet while African women produce 62 percent of economic goods, they still face many obstacles, as Kristalina Georgieva, the World Bank's managing director, noted in an interview with AFP: "We know that women in Africa are more likely to become entrepreneurs, but they also face many more obstacles than men in starting and running their businesses. »

Indeed, they suffer in particular :

• legal and cultural barriers that prevent them from accessing certain jobs,
• lack of training,
• a lack of access to technology (9% fewer women than men own a mobile phone and only 48% use the Internet),
• or difficulties in getting a loan from the banks.

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Digital to the rescue

Jack Ma is convinced: "Technology can be an opportunity for Africa. The Internet can do more than many development assistance programs imagined in the past. The former boss of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has created a new company, "Alibaba". the "Africa Netpreneur" awardThe Government of Africa has also launched a 10-year, $10 million fund to support these new African digital entrepreneurs. For Africa, it is the prospect of creating new services, adapted to the reality on the ground, whether in access to energy, banking, education, health ... However, be careful not to succumb to "magical thinking as soon as we talk about digital," warns Stéphan-Éloïse Gras, Director of Partnerships Africa of the online education platform OpenClassrooms: "The mobile phone is all very well, but it can't replace everything: roads that don't exist or poor health systems, for example. And for the innovation model to work, it needs capital and real support in terms of educational policies. »

Isahit or the winning duo women/digitals

With its responsible platform, dedicated to women in developing countries, isahit provides a solution that puts digital technology at the service of women's empowerment and economic and cultural emancipation. But we also go further by committing ourselves concretely to the professionalization and education (acquisition of digital skills) of the women entrepreneurs of our platform. Isahit is not an end, but a springboard towards the accomplishment of their professional or personal projects.

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Words of Hiteuses

"Isahit has enabled me to launch myself as a freelancer specialising in digital communication for companies and organisations. »

"Isahit is the best thing that happened to me this year. Indeed, it allowed me to boost my confidence and test the limits of my perseverance. Access to the community of hotshots has allowed me to dream bigger and to convince myself that I can do it. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the entire team of isahit motivators. You do more for me than you could ever imagine. »

Raymonde - Benin
Project: creation of a communication consulting company / setting up of communication service offers

"Isahit has helped me pay the first installment of the development of my project, which is scheduled to be launched in late 2019 / early 2020. »

Khouloud - Tunisia
Project: creation of an eco-tourism platform

"Isahit helped me finance my school fees, my taxes as a self-employed woman, and the costs of my final dissertation. »

Miangaly - Madagascar
Project: to finance a Master 2 in Engineering and Project Management

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"Digital technology can be a powerful empowerment tool for women and for Africa in general. Provided that it is accompanied by a real training programme and can thus have a concrete and multiplied impact on the economic and social development of the continent. Isahit is taking her part, at her level, in this wonderful challenge by enabling women to train in digital technology while building up the necessary income to continue their studies, buy equipment or start their own business. »

Isabelle Mashola, CEO and co-founder of isahit

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