Being a woman in tech and a competitive new tech generation

“60% of the population is under the age of 25, which is a huge investment potential… What we’re beginning to see is that a lot of these youth don’t have access to the internet. And we’re talking about digital, we’re talking about technology, we’re talking about being entrepreneurs. Internet connectivity in Africa is so low and we need to have innovative ways to serve the unconnected and underserved.”
Geneva, 1st April 2021: ‘Women & Tech. Doing Business in Africa’, the second episode in the newly premiered Ethical Fashion Podcast’s second series, airs today featuring two prominent female business leaders in Ghana and their trajectory towards a career in tech in the region.
The booming creative economy and continuous growing access to technology in the continent offer exciting opportunities for the new generation. But with young adults making up an incredible 60% of Africa’s unemployed population, the secret to getting ahead remains unclear. Guest hosted by Roberta Annan, Ghanaian entrepreneur and founder of African Fashion Foundation, in conversation with Vodafone Ghana’s CEO Patricia Obo-Nai, this second episode seeks to explore the career challenges the young population is facing today and how digital connectivity and mentoring of the new generation might be the solutions to professional success.
In this open conversation, Roberta Annan and Patricia Obo-Nai discuss potential strategies for emerging creatives and entrepreneurs in this digital era and the importance of women in leadership.
Simone Cipriani (Founder and Head of the Ethical Fashion Initiative (“EFI”) and Clare Press (Sustainable Journalist and Writer), return to host the second series of the Ethical Fashion podcast, first launched in June 2020 to champion the power of discussion and explore the issues driving the ethical fashion conversation. The new series focuses on African stories in light of the EFI’s work on “creating jobs and regenerating the social capital in some of the most challenging environments, which is something we started doing in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2018” says Cipriani.
 About the Ethical Fashion Initiative
EFI is a flagship program of the International Trade Centre, a joint agency of the United Nations and the World Trade Organization. For the Ethical Fashion Initiative, lifestyle choices impact livelihoods. EFI creates and
strengthens social enterprises in emerging economies to connect discerning international brands in fashion, interiors and fine foods with talented local designers, artisans and micro-producers. Savvy investors, pro-poor champions and mindful consumers find value in a virtuous circle that creates not just premium products, but also stable, dignified work, and creative and resilient women, men and communities.
The EFI’s Identity Building and Business Sharing Initiative showcases creativity and talent in fashion and beyond, in an effort to strengthen the cultural sectors including art, photography, cinema and music. Operational in seven dynamic new countries — Cote d’Ivoire, Eritrea, Mali, Uganda, Iran, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan — this chapter of EFI works in hand with leaders from the private sector to generate trade and more importantly, social capital. Find out more at http://www.ethicalfashioninitiative.org or on Instagram @ethicalfashion. This EFI Identity Building and Business Sharing Initiative are funded by the EU.