KINGSTON, Jamaica— More than 70 young women from rural and underserved communities across Jamaica benefitted from practical E-commerce training at the EQUALS/GSMA Tech4Girls Workshop, recently.

The training session taught the participants, aged 16 to 25 years, about the creation and marketing of an e-commerce site using Shopify.

The hybrid workshop, which took place on Saturday, December 5, featured interactive presentations from international instructors who left the young women motivated to pursue careers in STEM.

One of the participants, Neshkafay Johnson, said, “the workshop was absolutely incredible; the trainers [and content] were very exciting, and I built my own Shopify store! Tech4Girls is so important as this [allows] girls to have fun with tech from an early age, [and later] narrow the gap for women working in tech.” 

Cecilia Fletcher, IPTV Engineer, Flow Jamaica was onsite at one of the workshop locations to engage the young ladies in a discussion about her career in STEM and answer questions.

“I was extremely impressed with the level of interest in STEM among the workshop participants. While I shared my experience as a female working in STEM, I came away inspired by their healthy interest in artificial intelligence and programming. I am also happy that they now know that the opportunities in STEM are endless,” she said.

The EQUALS/GSMA Tech4Girls Workshop delivered in Jamaica, by Caribbean Girls Hack with RSC Tech Clubs, is part of a global series sponsored by Verizon under the EQUALS programme focused on digital skills training for girls and women.

“The GSMA Tech4Girls programme is designed to increase the participation and interest of girls in ICT by providing hands-on STEM activities and training,” said Carlos Bosch, Head of Technology, GSMA North America.

 “In a typical Tech4Girls workshop, girls are exposed to the development of technologies that are around them, [such as] building a smart speaker, developing an e-commerce store or programming a mobile application,” he added.

“Our goal is not only to awaken technical interest but to inspire girls to achieve their full potential. We have expanded the programme from Atlanta, Buenos Aires and London to 14 countries including Pakistan, Trinidad & Tobago, India, Jamaica, Taiwan, and Brazil among others,” Bosch said.

The local initiative is supported by Flow Jamaica, Global Affairs Canada and GraceKennedy Limited. The Caribbean Association of National Telecommunications Organisations (CANTO) with its specific members and RSC Tech Clubs serve as regional partners.