Afghanistan

UNDP Afghanistan's project 'Supporting Sharia-Compliant Micro Financing for Economic Recovery and Women’s Economic Empowerment in Afghanistan' provides skill development training for women in the microfinance sector, focusing on Islamic finance and access to finance for women-led MSMEs. Additionally, through the 'Enhancing Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (EGEMA)' project, UNDP Afghanistan offered training in digital skills for women, thereby expanding their access to online job opportunities.

Albania

The Government of Albania, with support from UNDP and the Italian Government launched the Innovation against Corruption: Building a Citizen Centric Service Delivery, which promotes greater engagement of women in the design, development, and production of the solutions.

Armenia

Impact Accelerator #5 in Armenia focuses on providing business and technical skills to girls and women to help develop their own start-ups. The program connects young women and girls to Armenia’s IT/Tech ecosystem who advises on job search and education; teaches new tech skills; and exposes them to new financing sources. Under MPTF funding and jointly with UNICEF, it targets girls (7-14 years of age).

Belarus

In 2021, UNDP has equipped women-led SMEs (133 women participated in real-time online sessions and 386 women viewed the recording) with knowledge and skills to efficiently and adequately mainstream digital tools and innovations into business models to increase business turnover. UNDP Guidelines on SMEs Digitalization were promoted among women entrepreneurs (748 views and 208 downloads) to support the digital transformation of their businesses. 240 women are enrolled in an online course on freelance developed by NGO Pro women with UNDPs support to ensure women’s access to sustainable livelihood under crisis circumstances. 257 women participated in real-time online sessions and 771 women viewed the recording of the Business and Career Days for women where experts and women participants explored new ways to increase resilience of business, develop recovery strategy, accelerate digital transformation of business, keep up with labour market trends and enter new careers in STEM sectors.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

The UNDP Economic Governance for Growth Project in Bosnia and Herzegovina, financed by the Government of Norway and UNICEF, is establishing STEM academies through piloted entrepreneurship curricula and fabrication labs in selected primary and secondary schools, thus supporting entrepreneurship development. In addition, the ‘IT Girls’ initiative, with support from UNICEF, UNDP and UN Women, fosters girls’ education in STEM fields, through computer programming, digital communications and website development programmes.

China

UNDP China conducted a STEM bootcamp as part of the 'Her Digital Future' programme aimed at promoting girls’ engagement in STEM and bridging the digital divide. The bootcamp targeted girls aged 12 to 18 from rural and underdeveloped areas to enhance their digital literacy and knowledge in STEM- related fields.

Fiji

UNDP Fiji MCO promotes and supports women in STEM through capacity-building opportunities as part of the Solarization of Head of State Residences project.

India

UNDP India’s Empower Her Journey, in partnership with Villgro, provides women entrepreneurs with webinars and online training sessions to equip them with digital tools for business acceleration. UNDP India also supports youth entrepreneurship through its Youth Co: Lab programme. Moreover, UNDP India supports women in STEM as part of its Climate Champions project by promoting women climate entrepreneurs through online support services. Additionally, it supports women in its Health Systems Strengthening Programme by assisting cold chain vaccine handlers, nurses, and midwives.

Indonesia

UNDP Indonesia’s ‘Skill Our Future’ programme aims to bridge the digital divide by providing access to digital skills training and employment opportunities for youth and university students. It is expected that women will constitute 60% of the total beneficiaries.

Iran

UNDP Iran’s Conservation of Iranian Wetlands Project (CIWP) provides women with training opportunities to take on green jobs and play a role in Lake Urmia restoration. Additionally, through the Chabahar Water Stress Project, UNDP Iran empowers women-headed households to participate in climate-smart agriculture.

Kazakhstan

UNDP Kazakhstan Accelerator Lab conducted a STEM bootcamp targeting about 100 young women aged 18to 25 from Zhezkazgan and Satpayev single industry towns. During the two-week bootcamp, participants were taught hard and soft skills, such as the basics of programming, website creation, social media marketing, public speaking and graphic design. The highlight of the bootcamp was 12 final presentations in which participants brought practical skills and offered solutions to local problems. Participants addressed challenges such as gender-based violence, animal cruelty, green jobs for people with disabilities, English language learning among youth, and promoting educational content in Kazakh. As a result, the bootcamp increased the appeal of digital fields and opened up new opportunities and positive life scenarios for young women. UNDP is supporting STEM education in the regions of Kazakhstan | UNDP in Kazakhstan

Mongolia

UNDP Mongolia's Accelerator Lab aims to close the digital divide for vulnerable groups such as seniors and persons with disabilities.

Myanmar

UNDP Myanmar's digital technology projects support women in STEM through efforts to improve women’s access to education.

Nepal

UNDP Nepal Accelerator Lab provides female undergraduate students in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) fields with professional training opportunities, mentorship sessions, and soft skills development.

Pakistan

UNDP Pakistan’s ‘Stabilisation and Inclusive Development Programme (SIDP)’ provided short- and long-term digital skills training to 3,800 youth from flood- affected districts and Merged Areas of KP, enabling them to obtain employment and promote livelihood through entrepreneurship. The short 15-day digital skills training included courses on social mediamarketing, e-commerce, graphic design, and content writing. Long-term training included courses such as web app development, web services, and Android IOS. UNDP Pakistan’s Youth Education & Empowerment Project (YEEEP ) provides digital skills training, such as Android/IOS app development, JAVA programming, and data analytics, to 1,500 youth with the goal of improving their employability. UNDP Pakistan Accelerator Lab organized a training programme for 80 youth from Hushe Valley with a strong emphasis on women and girls’ participation in e-commerce and freelancing skills. Through e- commerce and freelancing skills training, the Accelerator Lab socio-economically empowers the communities of Hushe Valley.

Papua New Guinea (PNG)

UNDP PNG’s project in partnership with the UN Capital Development Fund, 'Gutpla Solwara, Gutpela Bisnis' (Good Ocean, Good Business), focuses on the environment and the economy. It supports women-led blue economy initiatives and has established a women-led blue business network by increasing women’s access to technical and financial assistance. Additionally, the Papua New Guinea Biodiversity and Climate Fund (BCF), by UNDP PNG in partnership with the government of Papua New Guinea and funded by the Global Environment Facility – 6 (GEF-6), provides grant opportunities to promote conservation measures in PNG.

Philippines

UNDP Philippines's project 'Connectivity, Capability, and Resiliency through Free Wi-Fi for All (CoRe FW4A)', in partnership with the Philippines Department of Information, Communications, and Technology (DICT), addresses the challenge of bridging the digital divide by providing free internet access in public spaces. This project supports women in STEM in the Philippines by providing internet access, allowing them to access online resources that they may not have had access to previously without the free Wi-Fi connection.

Samoa

UNDP Samoa provides women with business and finance literacy training to empower women market vendors through its Port Vila and Marobe Market project.

Sri Lanka

UNDP Sri Lanka and the Sri Lanka Ministry of Science, Technology, and Research enhanced the digital capacities of young women and girls in Sri Lanka through Citra Innovation Labs. Citra Labs aims to support the sustainable development of Sri Lanka by improving the public sector’s innovation readiness.

Timor-Leste

UNDP Timor-Leste's project on ‘ICT Skills and Knowledge for Youth in Timor-Leste (ISKY-TL)’ equipped schools with the infrastructure and human capacities needed to create an effective learning environment and improve the quality of teaching and learning, thereby enhancing students' access to a sustainable economy and preparing them for future employment. The ‘Supporting Entrepreneurship and Employment for Women and Youth (SEEWAY)’ project supported women’s entrepreneurship by providing new graduates with internship opportunities and through its Business Innovation Challenges competition, where winning groups are awarded government grants for their micro, small, and medium enterprises.

Turkey

The Engineer Girls of Turkey project developed by UNDP and Limak Holding supported schoolgirls who receive engineering education with scholarships and opportunities to interact with women role models.

Central Asia

The Girls Technovation initiative supports girls in their path to become tech professionals and entrepreneurs in many countries across the ECA region. With support from UNDP, it is providing IT online training sessions to mentors in Uzbekistan during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Kyrgyzstan, the Technovation Coding Caravan, with support from the UN Women Kyrgyzstan Country Office and the US Embassy in the Kyrgyz Republic, has helped rural girls learn programming basics.

Western Balkans

As part of its campaign WE (Women Empowerment), the Regional Cooperation Council, with UNDP's support, is sharing successful stories of women in STEM in the Western Balkans.