Robi Axiata, Huawei, launch ICT training buses for women in Bangladesh

Robi Axiata, Huawei and Bangladesh govt launch ICT training buses for women

Bangladesh’s ICT Division of the Ministry of Posts & Telecommunications & Information Technology (MoPT&IT), Robi Axiata and Huawei Technologies have launched a project to deploy “digital buses” designed to offer ICT training to women across the country.

Under the three-year “Digital Training Bus project for Sustainable Women Development through ICT”, six buses – fully equipped with modern ICT training facilities – will be deployed to offer basic ICT training to 240,000 women across 64 districts of the country.

The buses are specifically designed to reach out to the women who find it inconvenient to venture out of their homes/ localities due to various social restrictions.

The project is expected to generate massive interest among the women, especially in rural areas to pursue entrepreneurship through ICT.

Roadshows at rural areas will also be conducted under this project to popularize ICT education not only among women but also among other school and college students.

The special-purpose buses will be air-conditioned, soundproof, and will be equipped with 25 workstations per vehicle. Training facility infrastructure will include one laptop per trainee, large format LED screens, sound system, Wi-Fi, customized training modules, learning software, and stand-by generator.

Training materials will be provided free of cost and the training modules and trainers will be facilitated and supervised by ICT Division.

A statement from Robi Axiata said the project is a first-of-its-kind initiative in Bangladesh to empower rural women through ICT in line with the Vision 2021, and will play a vital role to include young rural women in the journey towards “Digital Bangladesh”. In the long-run, this project aims to help build a strong network of talented women, who can contribute through ICT as much as men.

Robi Axiata is a joint venture between Axiata Group of Malaysia and NTT DoCoMo. It’s also the second largest mobile phone operator in Bangladesh in terms of revenue, with 27.4 million active subscribers.

1 Comment

  1. This is a wonderful initiative I would like more information on where the buses can be purchased and how. I am based in Botswana and would like to introduce them through the ICT Schools Association

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