Former Imo State First Lady and founder of the Women of Divine Destiny Initiative (WODDI), Mrs. Zinariya Nneoma Rochas Okorocba, has announced plans to launch a digital application designed to educate and empower women across Nigeria and other African countries.
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The platform, known as the WODDI Institute App, is expected to officially launch on Saturday as part of the organisation’s broader push to improve access to knowledge, digital learning and skill acquisition for women regardless of their educational background.
Speaking with journalists ahead of the launch, Mrs. Okorocba said the application was created to serve as an online learning platform where women can gain practical knowledge, business skills and empowerment opportunities at their own pace.
According to her, the initiative is targeted at women who may not have access to formal education or traditional learning systems but still want to improve themselves economically and professionally.
She described the app as a digital university built for African women.
“This is an app that we believe we want to use to ensure that we empower women, not just Nigerian women, but African women. It is like an online university for every woman,” she said.
Mrs. Okorocba explained that one of the major features of the WODDI Institute App is accessibility, noting that women can study using languages they are most comfortable with.
“And one of the things that we want to achieve is that every woman is key. One of our slogans is that no woman should be left out. We are structured in such a way that whether you are educated or not, you will be allowed to study at your own pace and choose the language that is most suitable for you,” she said.
“If you don’t want to use English, maybe you go for Yoruba, Hausa or Igbo or whatever language.”
The former First Lady said WODDI has spent the last 17 years working on women-focused empowerment programmes across different communities. According to her, the organisation has already empowered more than 3,000 women in Nigeria and has expanded operations into several African countries.
She noted that beyond conferences and empowerment summits, the organisation has continued to focus heavily on vocational training and skill acquisition programmes for women and young people.
Recalling some of her projects while serving as First Lady of Imo State, Mrs. Okorocba said she established three skill acquisition centres across the state’s three senatorial districts, helping thousands of people gain practical skills.
She claimed that the centres produced close to 100,000 trainees in different areas including tailoring, catering and cosmetology.
“Skill, we know, is everything these days. Even if you have a white-collar job, for you to make sure that your family is okay, you must have something else that you are doing,” she said.
“So here in WODDI, we take our time to ensure that we teach and educate people on different skills, be it tailoring, catering or cosmetology.”
Mrs. Okorocba also stressed the need for proper youth development, saying African countries must invest more in equipping young people with practical skills and innovative thinking to prepare them for the future economy.
“We are complaining about people, but if you are able to give them the foundation they need at that young stage, of course they will get it right,” she added.
