KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 12): The Malaysian chapter of the Women in Tech (WIT) Global Movement, an international non-profit organisation set out to close the gender gap and help women embrace technology, will be hosting the inaugural WIT Asia Pacific (APAC) Regional Awards and Open Day Conference on Oct 6.

The awards will take place at Pavilion Hotel, Bukit Bintang and will see the announcement of winners for eight categories: Aspiring Teen Award, Most Disruptive Award, Best Ally Award, Most Impactful Initiative Award, Start-Up Award, Global Leadership Award, Lifetime Achievement Award, and Woman in Web3 Award — a newly-added category.

The winners will then participate in the 5th Women in Tech Global Awards in Dubai on Oct 13, where the global winners will be announced. Yuki Aizawa, WIT Malaysia country director, said they received over 500 nominations from various countries in the region, including Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Singapore, Mongolia, Australia and Malaysia.

On the same day is the Open Day Conference, which will be held prior to the award’s dinner and will showcase talks by financial institutions on digitalisation and sustainability, as well as issues within the industry, such as the shortage of women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). The conference will also feature women founders and emerging tech.

These programmes are co-created with WIT’s sponsors and partners, including Malaysia Venture Capital Management Bhd (Mavcap), which will then be the pillar of the WIT Malaysia’s activities for the next year, based on which their programmes will be shaped.

WIT’s Azawa said the organisation is making sure that the government, businesses, non-profit organisations and the academia are aligned to the country’s aspirations of becoming an Asean digital hub.

“Close to 40% of the small and medium enterprises contribute to the country’s gross domestic product, so we empower them through digital skills, especially the women, who were especially compromised during the pandemic,” she said.

“Many women need help when it comes to reskilling, registering intellectual property and understanding the importance of financial literacy, among others.”

Noor Amy Ismail, chief operating officer of Mavcap, said the organisation is currently backing more than 30 women entrepreneurs, staying true to the mission to support women by being sustainable, inclusive and diverse.

“Mavcap has been a venture capital for 21 years and we are ready to take the brand global,” she said.

“We’re also getting support from universities. We need that integration and partnership from the government, the commercial sector, as well as universities, and we’re more than happy to have universities supporting this programme.”

WIT aims to educate and empower women and girls to succeed in areas of science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics. The organisation has programmes for every stage of a woman’s career lifecycle: from the classroom to the boardroom.

The organisation is currently on a mission to empower five million girls and women by 2030.

WIT’s Malaysian chapter was launched six months ago and has partnered with governmental agencies such as Malaysian Research Accelerator for Technology & Innovation (MRANTI), Sabah Creative Economy and Innovation Centre (SCENIC) and Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC).