Only 21% of women in Nigeria have access to artificial intelligence technology and tools, a technology analyst warned Tuesday at an event in Abuja, as stakeholders called for greater inclusion of women in the country’s growing AI sector.
Technology analyst Kunle Kakanfo, citing the figure at the forum, said there is an urgent need to bridge the critical gap in AI access in Nigeria. He joined other stakeholders in advocating for more women to be brought into AI development and deployment.
Dr. Bunmi Ajala, national director of the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, said women are a critical component of the advancement and transformation of AI in Nigeria and outlined the center’s efforts to address the disparity.
“AI for Women is a specially designed program initiative to actually let women take their first footsteps into this transformative technology,” Ajala said. He said the program is designed to help women understand AI’s transformative potential, build basic operational skills for the digital economy, and leverage the pivotal role women already play in Nigerian society.
“There’s hardly anything we’re doing that AI is not involved in,” he said.
