The Alternative Bank has announced the launch of the ‘Alternative Bank – Utiva Women in Tech Scholarship’.

Its executive director (South), Korede Ademola-Adeniyi, announced this during a virtual convening held to commemorate the International Day for Rural Women.

Ms Ademola-Adeniyi said that the initiative was designed to empower women entrepreneurs with digital skills, innovation design, and business growth training. She described the initiative as both symbolic and strategic.

According to her, women are the heartbeat of food systems, the lifeline of families, and the silent architects of community resilience.

“Empowering rural women is a moral imperative as much as it is smart economics and a cornerstone of sustainable national growth. The doors of the Alternative Bank remain open, ready to partner, finance ideas, and co-create sustainable solutions that empower women and strengthen communities,’’ she said.

Ms Ademola-Adeniyi said that the scholarships were designed to equip 20 women entrepreneurs with digital and business innovation skills, adding that the inaugural cohort was set to begin in November 2026.

She said that the initiative formed part of the bank’s wider corporate social investment commitment to bridge gender and digital divides. She said it was also the bank’s commitment to equipping women with tools to scale their enterprises and strengthen their participation in the emerging digital economy.

Utiva CEO Eyitayo Ogunmola expressed optimism about the partnership’s potential to redefine women’s access to digital opportunities.

Utiva is a one-stop platform for building and deploying world-class tech talent, enabling individuals to learn advanced tech skills and empowering companies worldwide to hire top talent seamlessly. Utiva is involved in teaching, global hiring, talent deployment, and international payroll.

(NAN)