Doors to a successful future have been opened and prospects for a better life have broadened for many underprivileged women and girls, who are being given an opportunity to undergo basic computer skills training at CB Muchero Innovation Hub.
Bridging the digital divide
Located in Harare, the hub – a brainchild of founder and chief executive officer Rutendo Muchero – is dedicated to helping women and girls to spread their wings by developing the computer skills they need to succeed in today’s digital world.
At the click of a button, women and girls from both urban and rural areas are being taken through practical lessons that empower them with internet basics for learning, networking and job searching, how to use tools like Microsoft Office and Google Workspace, an appreciation of digital safety as well as an array of other basic online and computer skills.
Rutendo, who took a liking to technology at a very young age like a duckling would to water, has always had a soft spot for helping people and the establishment of the hub has given her a platform to ensure that more women and girls are given the opportunity of being connected to the internet and digital highway.
“When I was growing up, I had a passion for helping people with technology. I was drawn to computers as an early age and I used to assist my parents and family members,” says Rutendo, who completed her A Levels at St. Mary’s School in Wedza before successfully completing a Bachelor of Science Honours Degree at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) in 2012.
Correcting the gender narrative
However, it was while she was working in the Zimbabwean Information Technology (IT) sector that Rutendo came face to face with a realization that was to sow the seeds of her entrepreneurial journey.
“The idea of starting a business came while I was working as an IT Support Specialist. Being a female employee we moved around cities and that is when I found out that when you ask a woman to do something simple like turning on the computer, they do not even know where the start button it.
“This is when I got the idea of assisting underprivileged women to navigate and use a computer. That is when I decided to start CB Muchero Innovation Hub, which empowers underprivileged women in marginalized communities.
“It is a foundation so we train the women for free and we rely so much on sponsorships and grants. We started this in 2021. I am the founder and the brains behind CB. We empower them with basic essential computer skills so that they are able to be technology savvy and not get left behind in the digital world.”
The initials of her company – CB – are a story within the bigger story of how she set up her business.
“CB are the initials of my parents’ first names. My dad, Charles Muchero passed away in 2021, soon after I had shared the vision I had of starting this company. My mother, Beauty Muchero, passed away in February 2023.
“My mom was not very technology savvy so the story behind the hub is that it is in honour of those mothers who are busy and working tirelessly and do not even know how to use a computer. The environment they are working in require them to be able to use a computer and my mother would be included on that list.”
Navigating through Covid
In order to effectively assist other women, Rutendo has set about improving herself academically to such as extend that she is now much better placed to impart her knowledge to others.
A certified professional director by Governance Solutions Canada, Rutendo also attained a diploma in general strategy and management from the Sharpe Business Academy. While these qualifications put her on an administrative growth trajectory, she singles out the Covid pandemic as a threat that nearly derailed her dream of setting up the company.
“One of the challenges I faced while establishing the hub is that the idea came about during the lockdown period. Our programs are structured in such a way that those we teach need to have hands on experience. Unfortunately, there were restrictions and people were not able to move freely so we could not proceed with the training.
“When I attempted to register the company in 2022, it was around elections time and I was told that they are not registering trusts and private voluntary companies at that time so this presented a challenge for us because it was difficult for me to move around to potential sponsors to request for laptops and everything I needed to start our activities.
“I had to wait until last year and I had to register the company an an investment company. However, by January next year, I would have registered it as a voluntary organization because they are now accepting registrations.”
Dreaming big for the future
CB Muchero Innovation Hub is currently made up of just four employees and Rutendo – who credits her entrepreneurial acumen to the influence she has had from her mentors Kenneth and Joanna Sharpe – is not in a rush to expand her business. She has a bigger dream.
“For now, the main goal is to put in place the proper structures that will enable us to achieve our objective. My goal is to train 6 000 women so that they are able to use a computer and use their mobile phones to do what a computer does.”
