Chennai, India, 14th July, 2025: HCL GUVI, an edtech platform 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 launch a transformative global initiative aimed at closing the gender gap in digital literacy. Through this partnership, the organizations aim to empower one million women worldwide by providing free, high-quality technology courses in multiple regional and global languages.
Despite progress in education, a significant gender gap persists in India, where male literacy stands at 86.5% and female literacy at 75.3%. Moreover, access to emerging technology remains uneven, limiting women’s participation in the digital economy. This initiative directly addresses these disparities by offering accessible, self-paced, industry-relevant courses designed to equip women with future-ready skills.
As part of the launch, courses such as Python and ChatGPT are being made available in languages including Bengali, Tamil, Hindi, Marathi, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu, Swahili, Vietnamese, French, Arabic, and English. By localizing content, the program ensures that language is no longer a barrier to digital learning.
“Through this initiative, we aspire to equip one million women with future-ready tech skills,” said Arun Prakash M, Founder and CEO of HCL GUVI. Apoorv Johari, Head of Enterprise Business at HCL GUVI, added, “By enabling tech education in both regional and global languages, we ensure no woman is left behind in this digital transformation.”
The partnership was formally announced in the presence of Ms. Jyoti Vij, Director General at FICCI, and Ms. Uma Seth, Assistant Secretary General, reaffirming FICCI’s commitment to inclusive growth and women’s empowerment through education.
This initiative will be delivered through TechEquity, a G20 EMPOWER platform launched by Hon’ble Minister Smt. Smriti Irani and endorsed by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. TechEquity offers a curated repository of over 100 courses in more than 120 languages, developed by global leaders including Meta, Accenture, Intel, and UNICEF, and designed to build digital, technical, and leadership skills for women around the world.
With this collaboration, HCL GUVI, FICCI, and TechEquity are taking a bold step toward inclusive skilling, enabling women across urban, rural, and global communities to thrive in the workforce of tomorrow.
Organizations and institutions interested in supporting this mission or exploring strategic partnerships are encouraged to contact HCL GUVI at partnerships@guvi.in or cs@guvi.in.