Digital access is not an abstraction. It's a very concrete matter of training, equipment, confidence. For women, in French-speaking Africa, the gap is real. ADC wanted to contribute to closing it at its own scale.
Digital Women for Access is an initiative we organised in Abidjan to highlight the role of women in Côte d'Ivoire's digital transformation, and above all to create a concrete space for training, exchange and networking.
Why it matters.
Côte d'Ivoire, like many French-speaking African countries, still shows a gender gap in digital skills access. Structuring initiatives already exist in the ecosystem — such as DigiFemmes (led by the Millennium Challenge Corporation, USAID and Microsoft in partnership with the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy) or Abidjanaises In Tech. Our approach fits into that landscape: creating a local, grassroots bridge between those major initiatives and the women who want to connect to them.
What we did.
This first edition was designed as a hybrid event: digital acculturation sessions for those just getting started, and deeper workshops on concrete tools (online presence, digital communication, first steps in e-commerce) for those already moving forward. The goal was not to stack presentations but to leave with something actionable by Monday morning.
Digital does not replace opportunities. It simply makes them more visible to those who know how to seize them.
What we take away.
The gap closes through repeated gestures. One training, then a second. A first showcase website, then a community forming around it. We intend to sustain this initiative and open it to other partners who share the idea that real digital access is built over the long term, not on a single event.