Africa ICT Right (AIR) was recently awarded a grant of $15,000 from WeTech – Women Enhancing Technology seed funding Grants for 2014. WeTech is a consortium of dedicated partners led by the Institute of International Education (IIE) to design and support a series of innovative activities that provide training, build networks and offer professional opportunities to help women and girls around the world enter STEM fields and succeed in technology careers.

Launched at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting in 2013, WeTech has engaged 26 companies, 115 mentors, 36 schools and 3,400 girls in 13 countries to date and was the subject of a video narrated by Chelsea Clinton in 2014. Women Enhancing Technology (WeTech) has partnered with Google to make seed grants of up to $20,000 to 18 organizations in Africa of which Africa ICT Right happen to be part of, for their inspiring work to involve more women and girls in computer science-related opportunities. WeTech and Google share the belief that retaining more girls in computer science should be tackled from various levels, in various parts of the world—from the U.S. to Africa—and is most effective in partnership with NGOs, corporations, associations and individuals.

Africa ICT Right (AIR) through its flagship program called Girls In Tech (GTech) will used this grant to expand the impact of its GTech initiatives by setting up a 20 seated lab in Shama in the Western region of Ghana to increase access to computer science training for over 200 girls in that region. In addition to this financial support, WeTech grantees will receive regular capacity building support from the WeTech team as they revise implementation plans, track impact and become more sustainable. Each grantee will also join a network of peers that will meet virtually at least one time every month to share successes, lessons learned and professional connections.

The selection of AIR was a humbling one as according to WeTech, AIR was selected alongside 16 other organizations all over Africa from over 90 applicants from 20 countries. This selection is a testament of the appreciation of the impact and relevance of AIR’s commitment to closing the gender gap in the technology sectors. As the Manager of the WeTech initiative, IIE is actively seeking new partners and resources to expand the program’s reach and impact. Individuals and organizations that wish to participate should contact IIE atWeTech@iie.org