Computer training for women entrepreneurs

After her mother and father died, Grace Nanyonga was left to look after herself and her five younger siblings. She was 14 years old.

Two years later Ms Nanyonga’s step brother forced them away from the family’s land. Without money to pay for legal representation to fight for her parents’ house, she was left in a desperate situation.

Ms Nanyonga, from Kampala, Uganda, began to sell chickens in order “to feed, clothe and house” her three brothers and two sisters. However, this did not provide enough money for them to go to school. As the eldest child, Ms Nanyonga decided to complete her own education so that she could gain the skills needed to make enough money to support her family.

In November 2003, she set up a company which packages and sells fish. The business brought in some money, but Ms Nanyonga could not afford to take on any other employees. She was responsible for buying the fish in the early mornings and evenings from Lake Victoria, smoking, spicing, packaging and distributing.

Then, after “working very hard” for over two years, Ms Nanyonga attended an Information Technology (IT) training course for women entrepreneurs. The Link IT project, taught a wide range of computer skills to over 200 women from seven districts in Uganda.

“Through the training I learned how to use a computer to design business cards, communicate with other people online, use the internet for market research and manage the company accounts,” said Ms Nanyonga, who is now 24.

“The IT course helped me and my family greatly. I now have enough money to send my siblings to school.”

The Link IT project was funded by the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation and delivered by the Commonwealth Service Abroad Programme (CSAP) under the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Governance and Institutional Development Division. The Commonwealth Women’s Business Network and the Secretariat’s Gender section were responsible for the conception and design of the project.

Sarojini Thakur, Head of Gender at the Secretariat, said: “The Link IT project is not only an excellent example of how to bridge the digital divide between men and women, but also demonstrates how appropriate training and skills can lead to the economic empowerment of women.”

For this IT training project, CSAP collaborated with the Uganda Women Entrepreneurs Association, which helps improve the economic status of women. Grace Barya, Executive Director of the Association noted that the businesswomen who attended the training courses are now able to use the technical skills they developed to market their own companies effectively.

“Before women attended these training courses, they were not able to advise each other about their businesses. Today the story is different. Many of the participants now learn from each other through regular email contact,” she added.

Key Links:

• Country Profile: Uganda
• Gender