WiDEF To Give Over $1 Million to Pakistan For Training Women

The Women in the Digital Economy Fund (WiDEF) announced the awardees of its first round of funding. Ten organizations, spanning eight countries across East Africa, West Africa, South Asia, and Latin America, have been selected for their innovative solutions and impact in tackling the gender digital divide including DEMO Pakistan which will receive over $1 million for digital inclusion efforts. DEMO is addressing Pakistan’s gender digital divide by providing digital entrepreneurial training to 10,000 female university students in remote and underserved regions, aiming to empower women and ensure financial independence. The gender digital divide disproportionately impacts women in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In fact, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) reported last year that 244 million more men around the world than women used the internet. This staggering gap leaves millions of women and girls excluded from the transformative power of digital technologies that drive opportunities in education, employment, entrepreneurship, and financial independence. Such vast disparities in internet usage are exacerbated by a host of barriers across many geographies. Without targeted, sustained action, this digital divide will only deepen with the rapid advancement of emerging technologies – further marginalizing women and girls around the globe. That is where WiDEF comes in. WiDEF launched its first call for proposals in March 2024, receiving more than 1,350 applications from 98 countries. Semifinalists for the award were announced in September 2024. An external selection panel of industry leaders assessed this final group of applicants for the potential impact of their proposals, their track records, and the clarity of their vision for the future. The ten awardees – eight of whom are women-led – will receive financial support ranging from $500,000 to $1.5 million USD to scale up their solutions over the next two years. “We are incredibly proud to support this diverse and innovative group of leaders lighting the path to universal, gender-equitable digital inclusion. By investing in local and women-led initiatives, WiDEF is advancing a real shift not only in what gets funded, but in who gets funded. We are confident that, alongside our partners, these amazing leaders will help break down the barriers preventing women and girls from participating fully in the digital economy. We could not be more excited to have the privilege to support and learn alongside them.” said Christian Pennotti, Chief of Party for WiDEF and Managing Director at CARE. WiDEF is a collaborative effort by USAID and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to address gender digital inequalities. With new partnerships and investments from the Reliance Foundation and the UPS Foundation, the initiative is committing over $80 million to accelerate progress in digital inclusion.