The exclusion of women from the digital economy has cost more than $1 trillion dollars of GDP to low and middle income countries in the past decade, and inequality will persist for women and girls until this is confronted.

They were the opening words of Self Help Africa’s Programmes Director Orla Kilcullen as she hosted Self Help Africa’s third annual International Women’s Day webinar, on Wednesday 8th March 2023.

“In 2023, gender inequality persists across all parts of the world and in all aspects of life. Digital technology is no different – and it’s coming at a huge cost, quite literally,” she said.

She added that without action, the economic cost of hindering access to digital resources for women would risk to $1.5 trillion by 2025, according to recent data.

Self Help Africa’s webinar for International Women’s Day 2023 featured speakers from across East, South and West Africa, speaking about their experiences integrating women into technology in their work.

The contributors to the event included Wangiwe Kambuzi, founder and managing director of an e-hub in Mzuzu, Malawi; Amy Kebe, founder and manager of Jokalante an innovation and technology hub in Senegal; Obor Minto, the senior technical advisor to the German Government’s GIZ Digital Transformation Centre in Kenya; and Cherryl Chelule, Operations Manager at TruTrade, Self Help Africa’s own social enterprise that uses a digital payments platform to allow women to access markets.

Catch up on our webinar below for an engaging conversation and discussion on women and technology: