Tech for Single Mothers
ICT Skills & TVET Inclusion
in Rwanda & Kenya
A 36-month Erasmus+ project co-designing an ICT-based curriculum to reintegrate young single mothers into vocational education and the digital economy.
Why young single mothers are left behind
In Rwanda and Kenya, teenage pregnancy forces thousands of young women out of education each year. Studies show that up to 80% of teenage mothers in Rwanda never return to school after giving birth, and in Kenya the figure is even higher. Without access to digital skills training, these women risk long-term exclusion from an increasingly technology-driven labour market.
School dropout
Up to 80% of young mothers in Rwanda never return to education after pregnancy, with similarly high rates in Kenya
Digital exclusion
Technology access remains predominantly male-dominated, widening the gender gap across both countries
TVET capacity gaps
Institutions lack industry links, modern pedagogy, and inclusive curriculum suited to vulnerable learner groups
Social stigma
Young mothers face rejection and financial hardship that compound poverty cycles and limit life opportunities
Design Thinking - co-designing with young mothers
Rather than designing for YSMs, Tech4SM designs with them. Using a participatory Design Thinking methodology, the project moves through empathy, definition, ideation, prototyping, testing, and learning - ensuring every element of the curriculum reflects real needs, real barriers, and real aspirations. Childcare and meals are provided throughout training to remove participation barriers.
Change at every level
Tech4SM is designed to create lasting change not just for individual women, but for TVET educators, institutions and the wider education system across Rwanda, Kenya and beyond.
Young Mothers
Nationally recognised digital and entrepreneurial skills, improving employability and socio-economic independence
TVET Teachers
Educators develop new competencies in ICT, design thinking and inclusive pedagogy through hands-on co-design
Institutions
TVET providers strengthen international collaboration, curriculum design capacity and inclusion practices
Curriculum
A nationally compliant ICT-TVET curriculum for Rwanda and Kenya, freely available for replication across the region
Policy
Evidence-based recommendations to policymakers on reintegrating young single mothers into formal education
Community
Parental workshops and awareness campaigns to reduce social stigma around young motherhood and education
Partners across three continents
The project brings together universities, NGOs, TVET institutions and national authorities from Europe, Rwanda and Kenya - each contributing distinct expertise to a shared mission.