An eleven-member high-level delegation from Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia visited Technopark as part of their two-day visit to Kerala.
The delegation led by Minister for Women, Youth and Children Zenebu Tadesse along with Gennet Zewide, Ambassador, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Embassy of Ethiopia, New Delhi, visited the IT park with the basic objective to understand the role of IT industry in empowering youth.
The delegation also interacted with a group of Technopark companies and the office-bearers of the recently formed e-WIT (empowering Women in IT group) to understand how the park is working towards providing opportunities for the youth in the state.
After her interactions with Technopark officials and other park companies, Zenebu Tadesse said that the fact that 45 percent of the IT workforce in Technopark comprises women of less than 26 years of age was very heartening.
“Following our interactions with Technopark officials and the upcoming meetings with various departments of the State Government in the coming days, we hope to implement some of the best practices followed in terms of empowering women and youth in our country as well,” she said.
Gennet Zewide said that Technopark was one of the greenest IT parks she had ever seen and that she would like Technopark-based companies to work closely with Ethiopian companies in the field of IT.
Technopark CEO K G Girish Babu received the delegation along with M Vasudevan, Sr. Business Development Manager.
Girish Babu delivered a detailed presentation on the advantages of Kerala IT in comparison to other states in the country.
“Kerala is one state which has been recognised for its high literacy rate in the the country, which by itself is an added advantage for us to be able to fully utilise the manpower resources available within the state. The IT/ITES companies that have opened their offices have always benefited from the young energetic work force which the state is able to provide,” he said. M Vasudevan, Senior Business Development Officer Technopark, said that the companies in Technopark had balanced women and men working ratio, which reduces the wide disparity and improves the working culture of companies. “There are many women who hold high posts in the companies at Technopark and they are a great example for other IT parks that are also continuously trying to improvise the gender differences in their companies,” Vasudevan said.
The delegation would meet Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Social Welfare Minister M K Muneer, on Tuesday.