KUALA LUMPUR – With less than 7% of women entrepreneurs worldwide getting access to business funding, it is only apt that Women in Tech, an international non-profit organisation, aims to close the gender gap and help women embrace technology.
Its country director Yuki Aizawa said the organisation, which is headquartered in France, aims to increase women representation in the corporate sector, micro, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups.
“In tandem with our growing community of almost 200,000 members across six continents, there are currently 23 countries where we have set-up operations worldwide. Women in Tech aims to grow the movement to 100 chapters by 2024.
“And today, we are grateful that Malaysia is the second in Asean after Thailand and one of the next five countries to join the global network,” said Aizawa at the recently held Malaysia chapter launch of the Women in Tech Global Movement.
She also said the Women in Tech Malaysia chapter is focusing on financial inclusion to broaden the accessibility to quality and affordable financial services for all segments of society.
“It is to provide assistance to the disenfranchised through innovation and technology, equip those who do not yet have the access or even knowledge, with education and programmes.
“We are working with each state to appoint state champions. We are working with the community, academia, universities in the areas of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics to create youth champions and leaders to catalyse change.
“We also want to place heavy emphasis and shift the attention to creating funding accessibility and enhancing contributions to local SMEs and women business owners.
“SMEs account for a large proportion of the national economy and are the nucleus to our joint efforts to achieve sustainability and inclusive growth.”
She said for many start-ups and SMEs in these trying times, the lack of digital infrastructure prevents SMEs from operating at efficient levels, leading to the formation of disadvantaged and marginalised groups.
“This lag of digital adoption across businesses and society is an area that we aim on tackling and against this backdrop, this theme aims to tap into the potential of today’s technology to help forge a more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable economy for the future we will live in,” Aizawa said, adding that seminars, workshops, and special events have been planned over the next few months to help one achieve both personal and career growth.
“As the very first activity after this launch, we are having the first workshop on March 6, which is a workshop on a hot topic of NFT and metaverse.”
In conjunction with the launch, which was sponsored by the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication and Malaysian Research Accelerator for Technology and Innovation, a panel discussion comprising four notable speakers was held.
They are LeadWomen chair Anne Abraham, SME International Trade Association president Megane Soo, Fintech Association of Malaysia president Karen Puah and Fusang Digital Securities Exchange managing director Farah Jaafar.
Panel members spoke on the setting up of funding amounting to US$1 billion (RM4.2 billion) for women-led technology companies and helping women start-ups.
Those who are interested to join Women in Tech can become a member or visit them on LinkedIn and Instagram for more information. – The Vibes, March 5, 2022
