By Olabisi Olaleye
MTN has thrown its weight behind the global campaign by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to encourage more girls and young women to consider careers in the ICT industry, recognising that they are critical to the sustainability of ICT in Nigeria.
MTN Nigeria’s general manager in charge of regulatory affairs, Oyeronke Oyetunde, said the empowerment of the female folk has taken on a new urgency, especially with many countries now forecasting a shortage of skilled ICT professionals within the next 10 years.
She explained recently during the celebration of the “International Girls in ICT Day 2017,” organised by eBusiness Life magazine, that it was vital to bring young women into the technology space, which would not only empower them but also serve as a springboard to overcome cultural and social barriers that may deny them life-changing opportunities.
“We need to create these large-scale opportunities, if we are to sustain healthy growth rates for the overall benefit of the industry.
“As a way of incorporating a gender perspective in the implementation of all ITU programmes, MTN, as the market leader in Nigeria, is leading the charge to pave the way for more young Nigerian girls to embrace ICT as a profession and career, should they so desire,” she said.
With the theme “Expanding Horizons, Changing Attitudes,” Oyetunde said MTN’s support for the campaign was further motivated by the fact that there was a growing number of women in the company who are doing well in a field that used to be an exclusive male preserve.