Microsoft, through the Cloud and AI Security Engineering team has partnered with SheHacks, women STEM-focused annual festival, to encourage more women in tech.
Microsoft says the partnership is due to its commitment to supporting developing, sponsoring and advocating for women with an interest in Security Engineering.
Hayden Hainsworth, General Manager for Cybersecurity Engineering at Microsoft, said “My mission is geared towards empowering our customers and partners to get and stay secure on their journey to cloud while inspiring the next generation of cybersecurity engineers”.
“We are really delighted to be partnering with SheHacks for this year’s Hackathon, with a focus to prepare women to thrive in the technology industry. We want to make it easy for anyone to take their next step forward in technology,” Hainsworth added.
Kenya has one of the highest number of internet users with over 46 million people having access to the service, according to internet world statistics. But with the acceleration of digitalisation comes insecure consumer habits. This coupled with inadequate cybersecurity measures in key sectors and eventually turning Kenya into a lucrative target for cyber criminals. Microsoft’s collaboration with SheHacks provides a great opportunity to empower more youth with the right skills – most urgent cybersecurity skills to accelerate digital success in the region.
SheHacks Founders Evelyn Kilel and Laura Tich agree to the fact that there is need for tech support for women.
“Since we founded this initiative, we have seen tremendous growth in the number of women and young people who want to take part. This year alone, we are hosting close to 300 young ladies from Kenya to equip and empower them with the required technical know-how to combat cyber-crime”, they said.