The 2023 theme for International Women's Day is ‘‘DigitAll: Innovations and technology for gender equality’’. The theme recognizes the role of women and girls play in innovations and technology.

Gender equality is central to the operations of the Re:Build Program. The program has a deliberate strategy to place women in sectors traditionally dominated by men, including in the digital space. Sarah Haroun Majala, 49, is a Ugandan refugee living in Njiru, Nairobi. Before the Covid-19 pandemic struck, Majala, a mother of three, was operating a shop selling artwork merchandise. However, the pandemic forced her to close the business. Without a business and her livelihoods options in danger, Majala enrolled with the Re:Build program and was supported to  undertake a six-month Computer and  online marketing course at IAT College in Nairobi.

Equipped with a certificate, Majala was able to secure a job which helps her to  earn an income from transcribing video and audio files for online content. She is hopeful and working hard to further improve her skills and build her client base form the business.

Sarah Haroun Majala at work on her computer. She trained for a six- month Re:Build sponsored computer course. From the skills attained, she is able to transcribe videos and audio for online content.

In 2022 the Re:Build program  worked with multiple partners in the private sector, government and the civil society in both Kampala and Nairobi to conduct advocacy engagements aimed at advocating for inclusion  for urban refugees, considering how badly they were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis.

In Kampala for instance, urban saving schemes were supported with building a digital platform  for easy record keeping and for members to be able to use their phones to have visibility  group performance. Importantly, the platform can used to create confidence in financial service providers  to offer financial services to members of the saving schemes.

Digital platforms for financial inclusion   

In March 2022 M-Pesa, the mobile money transfer platform hit the milestone of 30 million active users in Kenya. Online money transfer platforms offer vital financial inclusion opportunities as they can be conveniently accessed using handheld mobile devices .

‘‘Digital economy is becoming a key driving force behind economic development. It is increasingly being embraced by advanced and developing countries,’’ noted a 2022 report from the International Labour Organisation(ILO).

Alice Mwamikazi and Immaculate Natusi, two Congolese refugees  who live in Nairobi met in 2022 through Re:Build as  they pursued a dignified life in Nairobi. Both  reached out to the  program and were supported  to study tailoring at Mahanaim College, a vocational school. The two  graduated three months later and were offered startup kits to help them in setting up a business.

Access to online platforms by women  not only promotes equality but also ensures digital innovations can be used to access financial services for small businesses and thus  offering livelihoods opportunities for vulnerable groups like refugees. In the picture Re:Build clients- Alice Mwamikazi and Immaculate Natusi at work in their tailoring business in Karasani, Nairobi, but not having access to M-pesa because of their refugee status is an impediment to the growth of their businesses. 

Today they run a tailoring shop  in Kasarani, off the Thika Highway.

‘‘We decided to pool our money from the startup kits we received from the IRC to start up this business,’’ said Alice Mwamikazi, a mother of four.

Both women say their lives have substantially improved. While they can now afford to pay rent and buy food for the families using income earned from their tailoring business, challenges are still abound.

‘‘When you’re running this kind of business you need to have access to M-pesa to buy fabric from the city and for clients to pay you. In Kenya it is  not easy for a refugee to have access to M-Pesa. In my case I use  the M-Pesa number of a Kenyan friend,’’ said Immaculate Natusi.

Under its Influence and Adoption pillar, Re:Build continues to engage different stakeholders on the need to address barriers that urban refugees in Nairobi and Kampala face so they can achieve economic self-reliance.