Bolt has recently revealed the commencement of its third annual #WomeninTech paid internship program, which will operate across…
Bolt has recently revealed the commencement of its third annual #WomeninTech paid internship program, which will operate across four African countries: Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, and South Africa.
Dubbed ‘The Bolt Outternship,’ this year’s internship program aims to empower and enable young women to kickstart their careers in the tech industry. The paid internship program is slated to run for three months, from June to August 2023.
The program is designed to provide training, mentorship, and empowerment to selected participants and offers internship placements across various departments, such as Operations, Engineering, Public Policy, PR, and Marketing. Throughout the three-month program, participants will also be paired with women in leadership roles at Bolt who will act as mentors and guides.
About Bolt’s #WomeninTech program
In 2021, the ride-hailing company launched its #WomeninTech program to empower and inspire young women to explore career opportunities in the tech industry. Given the significant gender imbalance in the field, Bolt hopes to do its part to improve representation.
Last year, in 2022, Bolt allowed 12 young African women, including three from Nigeria, to participate in its internship program. This opportunity allowed them to contribute to expanding the ride-hailing industry in the market by working across various departments.
Speaking on the impact of this internship program as it relates to representation, Ireoluwa Obatoki, Bolt’s Regional Manager for West Africa, said,
We started the Bolt internship program in 2021 to empower young women to take up space and grow their careers in the tech world. We are elated to launch the third edition of the program considering that we have been able to provide young women with valuable work experience over the years that will accelerate their career growth.
She further added.
We strongly believe that increased representation of women in tech will promote a more inclusive, diverse, and progressive society. As such, Bolt, as a company, through this initiative, is expressing its commitment to positively impact the communities it operates in.
This is not the only women-focused program Bolt has up its sleeves. It is currently working on a “Women at the Wheel’ campaign to tackle the gender gap in ride-hailing.
According to the press release seen by Technext, the ride-hailing company is committed to creating more opportunities, like its internship program for women, across its business portfolio through various initiatives to achieve gender equality for a sustainable future.
Read Also: Bolt lays off nearly a third of its Nigerian workforce amid reports of global recruitment
Application process
This year’s internship program, “The Bolt Outternship,” has a limited capacity of 20 slots available for young women in Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, and South Africa interested in pursuing careers in the tech industry.
To start up the process,
You will be asked to complete a questionnaire. In the questionnaire, you will select the department you wish to carry out your internship program in, answer a few questions and submit your CV (You don’t need to have all the experience in the world to apply. It is an internship program).
After that, selected applicants will be asked to submit a video of themselves responding to a proposed case study, and then an interview is conducted before the final selection.
Interested candidates are to visit the Bolt website and follow the guidelines provided.