London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Jun 20, 2025

Women and girls are joining Chad's internet revolution

Women and girls are joining Chad's internet revolution

New opportunities are allowing women in the central African country to enter the tech field.

The internet revolution is coming - old news in much of the world but not in Chad, a tech laggard where women languish at the very back of the line when it comes to connectivity.

With just 6.5 percent of the population online, the landlocked African nation of Chad has the sixth-lowest rate of internet usage in the world, according to the latest World Bank figures.

Women are even more cut off than Chadian men as so few own phones, literacy rates are low, and cultural norms dictate that tech jobs go mostly to men, according to advocates.

But since the emergence of a handful of tech hubs, coding classes and start-up accelerators in Ndjamena, women have started breaking into the field - and are now pushing hard to ensure others are not left behind.

"Technology is something that will concern our whole lives," said Aicha Adoum, 35, founder of a Chadian telecoms company that is working to expand internet access in the Central African country, where paved roads and electricity are rare.

"We need to sensitise young girls," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Adoum was looked down on by family and peers when she got a job for a telecoms company because she worked at night and with men, both frowned upon.

With more women breaking into tech, this is starting to change, she said - but slowly.

At a recent tech conference in the capital, a crowd of veiled, young women glanced around hesitantly when quizzed by a 26-year-old entrepreneur.

"Has everyone here used the internet before?" Falmata Awada asked the group, pulling up a slideshow to explain what the internet is and how it works.

Several girls shook their heads to say "no" - they had never been online.

Yet, all were high school or college students in the capital Ndjamena, and all had come to attend a conference on women in digital technology and entrepreneurship.

Women across sub-Saharan Africa are 15 percent less likely to own a mobile phone than men and 41 percent less likely to use mobile internet, largely due to gender gaps in income and literacy, according to the telecoms industry body GSMA.

The widest gender gaps tend to occur in poorer countries with overall lower mobile penetration, such as Chad, said GSMA.


Breaking barriers


A Saharan country, Chad has almost no economy beyond oil exports, while politics have been stagnant since President Idriss Deby took power in 1990.

Deby has periodically restricted internet access for political reasons, once in 2016 after a disputed presidential re-election and again in March 2018 for more than a year, forcing people to use expensive VPN services to get online.

But the number of mobile phone owners and internet users is steadily growing, and the cost of one gigabyte of data fell from about $20 to $2.50 last year.

"The internet revolution is coming," said Safia Youssouf, a software engineer and entrepreneur, telling young women to seize the opportunity as data becomes cheaper and more accessible.

The event on women in tech, called "Digit'Elle", was part of Chad's third annual Global Entrepreneurship Week and "Digital November", both sponsored by foreign donors and agencies of the United Nations and organised by young Chadians.

Among young leaders in the field, there is a sense of optimism. Many studied abroad and returned with new ideas.

"We see that there are problems, and we know that with digital technology we can solve them," said Awada, who studied software engineering in Senegal and returned to cofound a mobile app for pregnant women.

She received grants and opportunities through organisations such as the Tony Elumelu Foundation and Women in Africa, which Awada found out about online.

Now, she wants to help other young women.

"I have the impression that most of them use the internet only for social networks - Facebook and WhatsApp," said Awada, as some of the students at the event pulled out smartphones. "They don't know the other opportunities," she said.


Not interested


While "Digital November" was long on inspiration, some of the concrete efforts to involve women and girls fell short.

At tech hub WenakLabs, a two-day digital training course for high school girls was meant to include 40 students, but only nine attended. Some parents refused to let their daughters go and some schools did not follow up on the offer.

"With women, it's slightly complicated," said WenakLabs founder Abdelsalam Safi.

"More women come in with start-up ideas, in general, but they are not very interested in digital," he said, explaining that it is seen as a male field, short on female training and support.

Several women said barriers were largely in their heads.

"Girls tell themselves it's hard and not for them," said 28-year-old entrepreneur Zam-zam Djorkode, who studied coding in Cameroon.

It is still widely accepted in Chad that a women's duties are in the home, locals said.

Only 12 percent of Chadian girls attend secondary school, half the attendance rate of boys, according to UN data.

The World Bank estimates that 1 percent of women in the workforce have a salaried job, against 10 percent of men.

"As a woman, you will see your responsibilities grow every day," Youssouf told the gathered students, referring to housework and childbearing.

"Use technology to open up, and you'll realise you want to change your daily lives," she said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
Energy Infrastructure Becomes War Zone in Middle East
UK Home Secretary Apologizes Over Child Grooming Failures
Trump Organization Launches 5G Mobile Network and Golden Handset
Towcester Hosts 2025 English Greyhound Derby Amid Industry Scrutiny
Gary Oldman and David Beckham Knighted in King's Birthday Honours
Over 30,000 Lightning Strikes Recorded Across UK During Overnight Storms
Princess of Wales Returns to Public Duties at Trooping the Colour
Red Arrows Use Sustainable Fuel in Historic Trooping the Colour Flypast
Former Welsh First Minister Addresses Unionist Concerns Over Irish Language
Iran Signals Openness to Nuclear Negotiations Amid Ongoing Regional Tensions
France Bars Israeli Arms Companies from Paris Defense Expo
King Charles Leads Tribute to Air India Crash Victims at Trooping the Colour
Jack Pitchford Embarks on 200-Mile Walk to Support Stem Cell Charity
Surrey Hikers Take on Challenge of Climbing 11 Peaks in a Single Day
UK Deploys RAF Jets to Middle East Amid Israel-Iran Tensions
Two Skydivers Die in 'Tragic Accident' at Devon Airfield
Sainsbury's and Morrisons Accused of Displaying Prohibited Tobacco Ads
UK Launches National Inquiry into Grooming Gangs
Families Seek Closure After Air India Crash
Gold Emerges as Global Safe Haven Amid Uncertainty
Trump Reports $57 Million Earnings from Crypto Venture
Trump's Military Parade Sparks Concerns Over Authoritarianism
Nationwide 'No Kings' Protests Challenge Trump's Leadership
UK Deploys Jets to Middle East Amid Rising Tensions
Trump's Anti-War Stance Tested Amid Israel-Iran Conflict
Germany Holds First Veterans Celebration Since WWII
U.S. Health Secretary Dismisses CDC Vaccine Advisory Committee
Minnesota Lawmaker Melissa Hortman and Husband Killed in Targeted Attack; Senator John Hoffman and Wife Injured
Exiled Iranian Prince Reza Pahlavi Urges Overthrow of Khamenei Regime
×