The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) provides financial and technical assistance to innovative programs and strategies to foster women’s empowerment and gender equality.

As UNIFEM is a global not-for-profit organization, with a unique background in ICT education, the collaboration in a project to bridge the digital divide between men and women in Southern Africa was a natural fit for INLEA. The first phase of the project was based at the University of Zimbabwe, an investment which cost hundreds of thousands of US dollars.  

During this time, students were taught essential ICT skills as well as several ‘soft skills’, such as interview techniques, with an aim to make students more marketable in the ICT market. A notable goal of the project was to increase female involvement, which was done by establishing a minimum of 60% female enrollment. INLEA provided support in staff recruitment and training, budget control and equipment sourcing to help make the initiative a success.

The University of Zimbabwe project proved to be successful in furthering UNIFEM’s mission to promote gender equality. The relationship between INLEA and UNIFEM serves as an excellent example of how our team is capable of working with diverse organizations.