The Youth Café and ImpactHER Empower 69,247 African Female Entrepreneurs through Digital Skills Training
From October 3 to October 26, 2023, The Youth Café, in partnership with ImpactHER, successfully conducted a comprehensive digital skills training program that reached 69,247 African female entrepreneurs. This initiative, aligned with The Youth Café's mission to empower young women across the continent, aimed to bridge the gender business financing gap and enable African female entrepreneurs to fully realize their economic potential.
ImpactHER, an impact-driven nonprofit organization, is deeply rooted in the African entrepreneurship and investment sector. Spearheaded by women who have held senior roles in African-focused private equity firms and banks, ImpactHER brings a wealth of expertise in leading numerous private equity transactions across the continent. This deep understanding of the sector enabled the organization to engage effectively with African female business owners, identifying and addressing the challenges these women face in running and scaling their businesses.
The training, offered at no cost to participants, focused on equipping women entrepreneurs with essential digital skills needed to build scalable, best-in-class businesses and position them as market leaders. Topics covered during the training included creating a digital marketing plan, optimizing business visibility on Google Maps, leveraging social media for growth, and implementing Google Workspace across business operations.
Participants were introduced to practical tools and strategies that would enable them to develop innovative products and services, optimize processes for cost efficiency, and increase profitability through enhanced market share. The sessions provided in-depth knowledge on using data insights to grow businesses and connecting with customers using Google Ads.
This training program was part of ImpactHER's broader initiative to address the digital divide among women in Sub-Saharan Africa, where internet penetration for adult women remains low and a significant gender gap exists in mobile internet usage. Through this collaboration with The Youth Café, women entrepreneurs within their network were mobilized to take advantage of these valuable training opportunities.
The impact of this training is expected to be profound; with participants gaining the skills needed to create sustainable growth strategies for their businesses, develop targeted advertising campaigns, and build strong communities around their brands. The Youth Café and ImpactHER are committed to providing ongoing support to these entrepreneurs, ensuring that the knowledge gained during the training translates into tangible business success.
This initiative underscores the importance of digital skills in empowering African female entrepreneurs, positioning them to thrive in a rapidly evolving global economy. The Youth Café remains dedicated to fostering partnerships that offer meaningful opportunities for young women across Africa to unlock their full potential and contribute to the continent's economic growth.