A digital skills scholarship programme run by Elle Empowerment Foundation has attracted applications from women across 12 countries, reflecting growing interest in digital education as a pathway to employment, entrepreneurship and community development.

The scholarship is being implemented through What About Her?, the foundation’s flagship programme founded by Serere Ajala to connect women and girls with educational and economic opportunities.

According to the foundation, the latest programme is focused on providing beneficiaries with practical digital skills that can be applied to businesses, professional development and community initiatives.

Selected beneficiaries come from several countries, including Sudan, Pakistan, Zambia, Mozambique, Kenya and Nigeria, with participants planning to apply the training to different economic and social challenges within their communities.

Ajala said the geographical spread of applications showed that many of the barriers confronting women seeking education and economic opportunities are shared across national boundaries.

“Even though we are divided by borders, the problems women face are not always divided by borders,” she said.

Among those selected is a Sudanese woman who has been displaced by the country’s ongoing conflict and hopes to use the knowledge acquired through the programme to support other women in Sudan.

Another beneficiary in Pakistan runs an access hub that connects women with opportunities. According to the foundation, she plans to use the training to improve her own digital capacity and strengthen the services available to women using the hub.

In Zambia, a beneficiary involved in agriculture intends to apply digital tools to help women in her village market agricultural products and reach potential customers beyond their immediate communities.

The programme has also selected a woman in Mozambique whose community work has been influenced by experiences of cultural and age-based exclusion. She plans to use the skills acquired through the scholarship to strengthen initiatives supporting older people and other underserved groups.

A Kenyan beneficiary working in youth mental health is expected to use the training to improve her digital capabilities as she develops initiatives supporting young people.

Nigerian women are also among those selected.

One beneficiary from Benue State plans to apply her training to initiatives supporting women in her community.

Another recipient, a nurse working in a village in Calabar, Cross River State, intends to use digital tools to improve the way she shares basic health and medical information with members of her community, particularly women.

The foundation said the selection of beneficiaries with community-focused objectives was deliberate, as it hopes the knowledge acquired through the programme will extend beyond individual participants.

Its approach is based on beneficiaries applying their digital knowledge to businesses, education, community initiatives and other activities capable of reaching additional people.

While the longer-term impact of the programme will depend on how successfully participants apply the skills acquired, the diversity of applicants illustrates the range of areas in which women increasingly see digital competence as useful.

Digital skills can support activities ranging from online marketing and entrepreneurship to education, professional development and community engagement.

The foundation said the programme also supports objectives associated with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly those concerning quality education, gender equality, decent work and economic growth, reduced inequalities and partnerships.

For Ajala, the international response also provides an opportunity to build connections among women dealing with different circumstances but seeking similar tools for economic and professional advancement.

What About Her? said the scholarship forms part of its broader effort to improve women’s access to opportunities as digital competence becomes increasingly relevant to education, employment, entrepreneurship and participation in the wider economy.