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Rural women across Africa face significant barriers to digital adoption that severely limit their entrepreneurial potential and business growth.
The GSMA Mobile Gender Gap Report 2023 shows that women in low- and middle-income countries are 19 percent less likely than men to use mobile internet, largely due to affordability and literacy challenges.
Because women often earn less than men, they are less likely to afford digital devices, and limited educational opportunities mean many are more likely to be illiterate, hampering their use of technology.
In rural areas and low-income communities, women frequently have restricted access to computers, smartphones, and reliable internet connectivity. The World Bank’s Digital Economy for Africa report notes that rural connectivity gaps continue to cut off women from e-services, hindering their ability to benefit from education, trade, and digital finance. This lack of access prevents them from participating fully in the digital world, narrowing their educational and economic opportunities.
The challenges go beyond mere access to devices. Affordable and reliable internet connectivity remains scarce in many rural communities, cutting women off from online resources and services. UNESCO’s findings on digital literacy in Sub-Saharan Africa highlight that low literacy rates, particularly among rural women, significantly limit their ability to use technology effectively for learning and entrepreneurship. Digital literacy levels vary widely, with many rural women lacking the skills and knowledge needed to effectively use digital tools for business growth.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, women entrepreneurs grapple with complex challenges rooted in societal norms, including unequal access to financing, skills gaps, weak digital connectivity, and under-representation in leadership, according to the African Development Bank’s 2022 report on Women Entrepreneurs in Africa.
These barriers create a vicious cycle where rural women cannot maximize their business profits or scale their operations due to limited access to digital markets, financial services, and development resources.
In many African rural communities, obstacles such as unaffordable smartphones, low-voltage networks, expensive internet rates, and the absence of internet services in local languages worsen the situation.
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has emphasized that lack of local language content further alienates rural women from engaging online. The digital divide, in effect, locks women out of opportunities for progress in entrepreneurship.
GIZ’s DTEG Programme Response
Recognising the urgency of the challenges, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) introduced the Digital Transformation for Inclusive Entrepreneurship in Ghana (DTEG) programme. The project aims to improve the economic situation of micro-enterprises, especially those operating informally, by enabling them to benefit from digital transformation.
The initiative focuses on Ghanaian businesses, with particular emphasis on women-led enterprises, and seeks to strengthen their economic resilience by integrating digital solutions. By improving policy frameworks, fostering collaboration for digital entrepreneurship, and promoting user-centered solutions that address real-world obstacles, the programme offers a holistic approach. Central to its design is the goal of equipping women and girls with digital skills.
Working closely with Ghana’s vocational education sector, DTEG has created innovative approaches to reach underserved populations, particularly rural women who confront multiple barriers to accessing digital business training and resources.
The DigiPreneur Hotline: Innovation Through Accessibility
In line with this vision, GIZ has unveiled the DigiPreneur Hotline, an innovative tool developed under the DTEG programme to bridge the digital divide.
A training on how the platform works was given in Bolgatanga at a stakeholders’ engagement organized by GIZ in partnership with Savanna Signatures.
A programme consultant likened the hotline to a familiar system. “It’s quite familiar. We all know how it works. It’s similar to the hotline that MTN or Telecel has.
When you call, you have an automated voice system that asks for your language and then gives you the packages so you can pick whichever problem you are trying to figure out. We developed the same system, but this time with content on business and entrepreneurial skills,” he explained.
Through this system, users can first select their preferred language, with options currently available in English, Dagaare and other Ghanaian languages with plans to expand to additional local languages.
“Once you dial, it takes you to the languages we have. Then you pick the language you are interested in listening to the modules,” he said. Users can then choose from five comprehensive training modules covering digital tools and platforms, business development and formalization, marketing and soft skills, e-commerce, and bookkeeping.
“You don’t have to follow one to five. If you are not ready to listen to number one, you can start with number two or number five. Any number you are interested in, you can start with that,” he added.
Overcoming Barriers with Key Features
The Hotline is designed to overcome the challenges rural women face. It works across all network providers, ensuring universal access regardless of carrier. It is also cost-free. “It is not something that you call and you have to take your credits or airtime. It is free and it works on all networks. The moment you dial the number, the phone cuts, and the system will call you back so you don’t use your own credit,” the consultant emphasised.
Importantly, it is tailored for basic phones, ensuring that women without smartphones are not excluded from receiving training. “We created this in mind of the women who do not have smartphones. A lot of women in rural communities all use small phones, and we didn’t want them to be left out of the project. But it doesn’t mean those with smartphones cannot also access it,” he added.
By offering content in multiple local languages, the Hotline addresses literacy and language barriers that often prevent rural women from accessing business resources.
Beyond Digital Content: Human Connection
The system extends beyond digital content to include human connection. “We have coaches and mentors on the program and also digital champions. Once you are done listening to the training modules, if you want to meet someone face-to-face or have more advisory services, the system will send you a phone number, name, and location of the coach or digital champion so you can meet the person and have a one-on-one discussion,” he said.
Many of these advisors come from Business Advisory Centers (BACs), which already support entrepreneurs but have now been equipped with additional digital capacity through the DTEG programme. “They are already doing coaching and mentoring with business people. We just added a bit of capacity with them in terms of the digital aspect,” he noted.
Impact and Implications
The DigiPreneur Hotline, according to the consultant represents a significant shift in how digital inclusion programmes can reach marginalized populations.
She explained that by relying on technology that rural women already own and understand, the programme eliminates barriers of cost, literacy, and device ownership. It provides comprehensive support by combining digital training with mentorship and ensures sustainability by building on existing advisory networks, she added.
Encouraging participants to test the tool, the consultant concluded: “This is the digital career hotline. I’ll encourage all of us to dial the number and just have an experience of how it works.”
Reporting by Mark Smith in the Upper East Region
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