HCL GUVI, G20 EMPOWER & FICCI to Boost Digital Skills for Women Worldwide

By: WE Staff | Thursday, 17 July 2025

• HCL GUVI, which is edtech with the support of IIT-Madras and IIM-Ahmedabad, released a global tie-up announcement on May 16, 2025
• The tie-up is with FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry) and G20 EMPOWER's TechEquity initiative
• The aim is to close the gender gap in global digital literacy

HCL GUVI, an edtech company incubated by IIT-Madras and IIM-Ahmedabad, has partnered with G20 EMPOWER's TechEquity initiative and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) to introduce a global program to bring gender parity in digital literacy on a large scale. The program is designed to empower one million women globally by providing high-quality technology courses for free in several regional and international languages.

Although access to education has grown, India continues to have a very high gender disparity male literacy is 86.5 percent vs. 75.3 percent for women. Limited exposure to new technology also prevents women from entering the digital economy. This new initiative specifically targets these problems by providing flexible, self-paced industry-specific courses that provide women in-demand digital competencies.

Python and ChatGPT courses are now offered in many languages such as Bengali, Tamil, Hindi, Marathi, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu, Swahili, Vietnamese, French, Arabic, and English. This multi-language strategy prevents language from becoming a limitation for online learning.

"To empower one million women with future-proof tech skills," said Arun Prakash M, Founder and CEO, HCL GUVI. Apoorv Johari, Enterprise Business Head, added, "By providing tech learning both in regional and international languages, we leave no woman behind during the digital transformation."

The partnership was formally launched in the presence of FICCI Director General, Jyoti Vij, and Assistant Secretary General, Uma Seth, underlining the commitment of the organization towards women empowerment and inclusive education.

The program shall be implemented on the TechEquity platform, which was inaugurated by Hon'ble Minister Smriti Irani and supported by Hon'ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi. TechEquity has a robust library of more than 100 courses across more than 120 languages, developed by international leaders like Meta, Accenture, Intel, and UNICEF. These courses are designed to build digital, technical, and leadership skills in women all over the world.

This partnership is a significant step towards inclusive digital skilling and provides opportunities for women from all walks of life city, rural, and global to flourish in the jobs of tomorrow.