DigiWAVE : Women Access Versatile Employment in Digital Economy

Programme 2021 - 2027 Interreg VI-B NEXT Mediterranean Sea Basin (NEXT MED)

Date of latest update: 2026-09-12

Description

Description (EN):

PROJECT TYPE: 1 - Thematic projects ~ MAIN INTERVENTION FIELD: 145. Support for the development of digital skills ~ SUMMARY: In Europe and the MENA region, the underemployment and segregation of women to specific labour sectors as well as discrimination in the labour market result in a gender employment and wage gap (Women’s Empowerment in the Mediterranean Region). In self-employment, the global percentage of women who are entrepreneurs is 5.3% in Europe and 4.5% in the MENA region, below the 6,2% global percentage, mainly because of difficulties in accessing business support services and networks (Intergovernmental Monitoring Mechanism on Gender Equality). The gender digital divide affects both the access and the use of the ICTs, as well as the number of female ICT graduates and experts working in the sector that in 2021 was only 19% (Education area of the EU commission). This gap is even bigger when it comes to vulnerable women facing additional barriers in the labour market. DigiWAVE will encourage versatile employment (i.e. employment and self-employment) of vulnerable women in the digital economy and will enhance women’s labour and economic inclusion contributing to closing the gender digital divide in the region. It will create favourable conditions for a sustainable growth of women’s employability, on one side by providing training and support for acquiring new skills aligned with the digital global market, and on the other side by advocacy and dialogue between key stakeholders to generate concrete action plans, enhancing laboral prospection, visibility and networking. The main expected outputs are as follows: 1. Competence development in ICT, empowerment and business development 2. Enhanced laboral inclusion through advocacy, prospection and networking for employability 3. Communication and visibility on the laboral and social inclusion of vulnerable women The direct beneficiaries will be 200 vulnerable (at laboral, social and economic levels) women from Spain, Greece, Tunisia and Jordan, while others will benefit from resources. Engagement with 400 stakeholders is foreseen. ~ KEEP KEYWORDS: ICT and digital society

Expected Achievements (EN):

Management coordination Communication and dissemination CODE: SO1ER1 ~ SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE: To increase the competences and skills of vulerable women in the Mediterranean to be competitive in the digital economy. ~ EXPECTED RESULT: Vulnerable women in the Mediterranean are trained, mentored and empowered to be competitive in the digital economy. CODE: SO2ER2 ~ SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE: To increase the laboral access of vulnerable women in the Mediterranean to the digital economy ~ EXPECTED RESULT: Increased awareness and improved practices among stakeholders for including vulnerable women in digital economy

Project outputs: (1.1) Partner meetings(EN)
(1.2) Coordination, monitoring and risk assessment(EN)
(1.3) Reporting(EN)
(1.4) Financial management(EN)
(2.1) Creating and developing an outreach and visibility strategy(EN)
(2.2) Creating and developing the online visibility of the project(EN)
(2.3) Project presentation and promotion(EN)
(2.4) Enhanced communication before, during and after the four transnational meetings(EN)
(2.5) Women for advocacy(EN)
(2.6) Final impact and results sharing(EN)
(3.1) Co-designed training program to equip women to access digital economy(EN)
(3.1) Co-designed training program to equip women to access digital economy(EN)
(3.2) Implementation of training program with 200 women(EN)
(3.2) Implementation of training program with 200 women(EN)
(3.2) Implementation of training program with 200 women(EN)
(3.3) Joint e-learning platform(EN)
(3.4) Support services to accompany women during and after training program(EN)
(4.1) Social and political advocacy to promote women's employability(EN)
(4.2) Prospection to increase women's employability(EN)
(4.3) Local stakeholders engagement and advocacy(EN)
(4.4) Networking building activities(EN)
(4.4) Networking building activities(EN)
Website: https://www.interregnextmed.eu/

Thematic information

ICT and digital society Labour market and employment Social inclusion and equal opportunities

Priority: (VI-B_MSB_3) Priority 3: A more social and inclusive Mediterranean

Priority specific objective: RSO4.2. Improving equal access to inclusive and quality services in education, training and lifelong learning through developing accessible infrastructure, including by fostering resilience for distance and on-line education and training

Priority policy objective (Interreg specific objective): PO4 A more social and inclusive Europe implementing the European Pillar of Social Rights

Type of intervention: 145 Support for the development of digital skills

Partners (4)

Lead Partner: Jovesolides: Jóvenes hacia la Solidaridad y Desarrollo

Partner’s ID if not PIC: G96933734 | PROFIT MAKING: False ~ STATUS PUBLIC: False

Address: C/Silla, nº 10, 46980 Paterna (Valencia), Spain

Legal status: private

Organisation type: N.a.

Website: https://jovesolides.org/

Total budget: EUR 686 004.00

Partner’s programme co-financing: EUR 610 543.56

Partner’s programme co-financing rate: 89.00%

Partner contribution: EUR 75 460.44

Contractors:

Name: Kreston Iberaudit FRP, S.L.
VAT registration or tax identification number: B97340392

جامعة البلقاء التطبيقية

Name: جامعة البلقاء التطبيقية

Department: Consultations, Studies and Training Center

Partner’s ID if not PIC: 4192-1189 | PROFIT MAKING: False ~ STATUS PUBLIC: True

Address: Hay Al-Maymen, 19117 Al-Salt, Jordan

Legal status: public

Organisation type: N.a.

Website: http://www.bau.edu.jo

Total budget: EUR 611 179.00

Partner’s programme co-financing: EUR 543 949.31

Partner’s programme co-financing rate: 89.00%

Partner contribution: EUR 67 229.69

مركز المرأة العربية للتدريب و البحوث

Name: مركز المرأة العربية للتدريب و البحوث

Partner’s ID if not PIC: 0626217SNN000 | PROFIT MAKING: False ~ STATUS PUBLIC: False

Address: 7, Imp. N°1, Rue 8840 Sofiane EchaariTunis, Tunisia

Legal status: private

Organisation type: N.a.

Website: http://www.cawtar.org

Total budget: EUR 627 474.00

Partner’s programme co-financing: EUR 558 451.86

Partner’s programme co-financing rate: 89.00%

Partner contribution: EUR 69 022.14

ACTIONAID ΕΛΛΑΣ ΑΣΤΙΚΗ ΜΕ ΚΕΡΔΟΣΚΟΠΙΚΗ ΕΤΑΙΡΕΙΑ

Name: ACTIONAID ΕΛΛΑΣ ΑΣΤΙΚΗ ΜΕ ΚΕΡΔΟΣΚΟΠΙΚΗ ΕΤΑΙΡΕΙΑ

Department: Programs & Institutional Fundraising Department

Partner’s ID if not PIC: 90275170 | PROFIT MAKING: False ~ STATUS PUBLIC: False

Address: Leoforos Mesogeion 204, 15561 Athens, Greece

Legal status: private

Organisation type: N.a.

Website: http://www.actionaid.gr/

Total budget: EUR 525 028.00

Partner’s programme co-financing: EUR 467 274.92

Partner’s programme co-financing rate: 89.00%

Partner contribution: EUR 57 753.08

Partners map

Partners and Projects info

Al-Balqa Applied University

DigiWAVE : Women Access Versatile Employment in Digital Economy

Partners and Projects info

Centre of Arab Women for Training and Research

DigiWAVE : Women Access Versatile Employment in Digital Economy

Partners and Projects info

ActionAid Hellas Non-Profit Organisation

DigiWAVE : Women Access Versatile Employment in Digital Economy

Partners and Projects info

Jovesolides: Youth towards Solidarity and Development

DigiWAVE : Women Access Versatile Employment in Digital Economy

Lead partner

Project partner

Summary

Project name (EN): DigiWAVE : Women Access Versatile Employment in Digital Economy

Project acronym: DIGIWAVE~A_T_3.1_0124

Project ID: 00022

Project start date: 2025-06-25

Project end date: 2028-06-24

Project status: ongoing

Relevant linked projects:

InnovAgroWoMed - Social Innovation in the Agri-food sector for Women’s Empowerment in the Mediterranean sea basin
Program:
ENI CBC MED (2019)
Jovesolides (Spain) and CAWTAR (Tunisia) (EN) | Output 1. Boosting women labour participation and entrepreneurship
On both sides of the Mediterranean Sea, there is a common trend in terms of low female empowerment and labour force participation. Thanks to this project, we increased the potential and presence of women in the agri-food sector - an industry closely linked to the cultural identity of the Mediterranean region. The process followed together with the vision of the proposal can be inspiring for future actions, especially as this project was developed within partners from the Euro-mediterranean region, and towards a similar target group this current proposal is attending.
Output 2: Training program
InnovAgroWoMed used a training Model composed from 6 Modules (business skills, Digital empowerment; Sustainable development, Fundamentals of social innovation, soft skills, technical skills). The output itself is an available training model that was developed and evaluated, and will support the new training program on the content connected with Entrepreneurial learning, business planning, strategy, or social innovation. The structure was coherent, effective and was well evaluated by the beneficiaries.
Output 3: Communication and awareness raising strategy
It was a coordinated process among all partners to visualise the advances, but also to increase social awareness about the need of laboral inclusion of women, specially those in a vulnerable situation. The strategy designed and followed-up by all partners is an interesting process has been adapted to the current proposal.
Output 4: Online e-learning platform
The DigiWAVE e-learning platform will be based on the one created in the InnovAgroWoMed project and adapted to DigiWAVE’s needs, beneficiaries and goals. In InnovAgroWoMed the platform was developed by CAWTAR, who still holds the technical framework and backend infrastructure, which will be updated and adapted to fit the needs of the DIGIWAVE learning platform, saving resources. (EN), Dones emprenedores
Program:
Promotion of equality among women and men - from the Valencian Government - (Department of Equity and Inclusive Policies)
Jovesolides (Spain) (EN) | This project focused on specific and specialised training on Social Entrepreneurship for women, most of them also in vulnerable situations. The proposal promoted a complete training program through the use of creativity tools and the generation of socio-economic alternatives, encouraging their motivation and training, their social participation with an inclusive vision, and their employability. The main outputs that can be inspiring are:
Output 1:Training program on Social Entrepreneurship.
The training focused on the social vision of entrepreneurship, and how any kind of business can generate a positive social impact. This vision of the entrepreneurship goals will be transferred to the part of the DigiWAVE training program that will be dedicated to entrepreneurship, considering similar contents and strategies on the Entrepreneurial Path.
Output 2: Personal support and follow-up.
Beneficiaries also had the opportunity to get personal and individual support in order to promote their capacities, skills and vision of what could be their entrepreneurial initiatives. A similar process will be replicated in the current proposal (DigiWave) considering the relevance of supporting and attending personal needs of beneficiaries. Considering the impact that this kind of services can make on final beneficiaries and final results, the current proposal will consider both a Mentor to support participants on a more technical level, and then a Coach, that will support in a more personal and individual level each participant.
The action was contributing to the employability of women, most of them at risk of social exclusion, so this particular experience, even though it was implemented only in Spain, can be a good practice to get ideas from. (EN), La Ruta 4.0.
Program: Valencian government - call for proposals for International Cooperation for Development 2023.
Run by Jovesolides (Spain) in Equador (EN) | This proposal is an effort to contribute to strengthen the capacities of women in vulnerable situations in Ecuador, especially migrants, within the support of an International Cooperation project, and especially promote their effective social and labour inclusion. The project is currently active. There are 2 outputs that can be considered for the current proposal.
Output 1: integral attention for women.
Vulnerability must be seen from a diverse dimension, which takes into account both the work, economic, family and emotional situation of a person. This proposal seeks to generate cross-sectoral support for women, considering all these dimensions. This holistic approach has inspired the design of the DigiWave project in terms of offering support services along with training program to better the meet the needs and specific situations of vulnerable women.
Output 2: networking, prospection and advocacy to promote labour inclusion
Beyond the training and support program, this project is developing advocacy actions at the local and regional level in order to enhance the involvement of diverse agents in the process of facilitating the labour inclusion of some of the beneficiaries. It is necessary to lay the groundwork and facilitate key actors in the region to also participate in inclusive processes that benefit everyone. This vision and work strategy will also be transferred to the DigiWave project, considering that it is key to establish work networks to increase the impact of the action. (EN), MOMENTUM: Breaking silos, promoting young migrant and refugee women’s access to vocational training and labour market opportunities through social economy
Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) of the EU.
ActionAid Greece (EN) | In the MOMENTUM project research was conducted across five partner countries—Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Hungary—to identify barriers faced by young migrant women accessing vocational training and the job market, with an emphasis on social economy enterprises.
Output 1: Research on barriers
It reveals key barriers like skill gaps, low motivation, trauma, and a perception that inclusion is solely the migrant's responsibility. The research emphasises the need for tailored skills assessments and official recognition of acquired skills. While collaborative networks exist, the study highlights their limitations as primarily project-based, often discontinuing post-implementation. The research has informed the design of DigiWAVE and will further feed the development of support services which will accompany the training program. It has also inspired us to work with the University of Jordan in order to recognize acquired skills through a certificate, and we will use our associated partners and our online platform to ensure the sustainability of our network after the project end date.
Output 2: integrated collaboration framework.
In the MOMENTUM project, an Integrated Collaboration Framework was developed to facilitate the integration of Third-country national (TCN) women, focusing on refugees aged 18-35, into VET programs and the social enterprise market. The framework is a dynamic model for cooperation among stakeholders, providing guidance and innovative interventions. Developed through a transformative, feminist-driven approach in three distinct phases, it fosters collaboration among Civil Society Organizations, Social Economy actors, Public Employment services, and Vocational Education and Training providers. This practice will inform parts of the intervention in WP4 of the DigiWAVE project, for involving various agents, partners, collaborators in different contexts. (EN), Developing the INTERNISA network of synergies to increase the number of digitally skilled women employed in the ENI CBC MED territories via matching demand and supply in the labour market
ENI CBC MED (2020-2023)
ActionAid Greece and BAU (Jordan) (EN) | Output 1: training programme - training materials.
The training materials developed for the INTERNISA project are tailored to meet the specific needs of various target groups, focusing on enhancing digital skills across different sectors. Here's a breakdown of what the training materials include:
- Digital Upskilling for Women in the Tourism Sector: This curriculum is designed for vulnerable women aiming to enter or advance in the tourism sector and is stratified into three levels of proficiency—beginner, intermediate, and advanced.
- Digital Transformation for SMEs: This training aims to assist SMEs in the tourism sector with their digital transformation efforts. The curriculum includes modules on digital literacy, market research and analysis, inbound marketing, and strategies for leveraging digital tools.
- Training for Public Sector Employees: Focused on how public policies can support the increased participation of vulnerable women in the labour market, this training involves workshops that cover human resources practices for empowering vulnerable women at work, understanding gender equality, etc.
These materials and contents are the product of a large-scale project and collaboration between expert parties. Therefore, part of the curriculum could be adapted in DigiWAVE according to what will be the women’s needs and always considering the reception and impact that the project had on the beneficiaries.
Output 2: capacity to adapt to diverse profiles of beneficiaries.
The project was targeting NEET women (18-35). A survey was developed in 7 countries to find the needs of digital skills for NEET women in 4 specific sectors (agri, tourism, textile and finance). All the training process was customize to fit in diverse modalities (online and residential) and to the realities of each country. That will be supportive to be applied in DigiWave project. (EN), Digital Financial Literacy in Tunisia
GIZ: German Agency for International Development
CAWTAR (Tunisia) (EN) | The “Financial Education on DFS in Tunisia” project was developed with the aim of providing more possibilities and opportunities for women to access knowledge and support tools in financial literacy and education. The main outputs that can be supportive and replicable in DigiWave project are:
Output 1: Network of trainers (DFL Ambassadors).
As it supported having a concrete network of people prepared to support beneficiaries of this project, within the increasement of skills, competences, etc.
Output 2: tools and platforms for digital education.
The proposal generated an elearning platform, in this case focused on the specific content of the project. But both, the content provided and the platforms and educational strategies will be used as point of reference, inspiration and know-how for the current proposal, as they are learned lessons that can be relevant for DigiWave. (EN), Strengthening financial and digital inclusion in Tunisia
Orange Foundation
CAWTAR (Tunisia) (EN) | The Regional Centre of Excellence leads this initiative for Financial Literacy (RCEFL), a unit of CAWTAR. The project aims to contribute to enhancing the financial and digital inclusion of women in Tunisia by strengthening the capacities of the 22 Orange Tunisia (OTN) Digital houses.
This involves developing two new support and assistance services in financial education and digital empowerment within the 22 OTN Digital houses across Tunisia.
In this case the specific outputs of the project that can be interesting to learning from or apply in the current proposal, are as follows:
Output: offline e-modules on financial literacy and digital skills.
Those contents are already developed and will be used for the new contents to be created in the framework of the new proposal. (EN)

Total budget/expenditure: EUR 2 449 685.00

Total EU funding (amount): EUR 2 180 219.65

Total EU funding (co-financing rate): 89.00%

Co-financing sources:

Investments, deliverables, policy contributions

(bullets are inserted automatically and may be incorrectly placed)

Contribution to wider strategies and policies:

Other The proposal aligns closely with the EU framework, promoting synergies and complementarities based on shared scopes and thematic objectives. It actively integrates these initiatives to enhance impact, foster cooperation across the Mediterranean region, and add value to the action.
The proposal is aligned with the following policies, strategies and initiatives:
- United Nations Sustainable Development Goals - Agenda 2030. The proposal will contribute and be aligned to SDGs 4, 5, 8, 10.
- New European Agenda for the Mediterranean - in its focus on the Digital Transition.
Inside Priority 1: a more competitive and smarter Mediterranean
- EU Digital strategy
- WestMED Initiative’s priority on skills and development (focus on entrepreneurship)
- SME strategy for a sustainable digital EU and COSME
Inside Priority 3: a more social and inclusive Mediterranean.
- European Skills agenda - developing competencies
- European education area - focused on the digital dimension.
- Digital Education Action Plan (2021-2027) - focus on digital education.
- Digital skills and Job Coalition
- Europe’s Digital Decade - encouriging employment in digital economy
- EC Skills for SMEs - supporting self-employment
- Union for the Mediterranean “Skills for success” - focus on disadvantaged women.
How the proposal will contribute to those policies, strategies and initiatives:
- A better access to education and training in digital skills and competences
- Promoting educational and motivational strategies to increase women’ access to employability
- Promoting an inclusive and sustainable growth from the promotion and support to entrepreneurs
- Empowering citizens (women in this case) as key actors to transform the current economic system
- Generating scenarios for a collaborative co-construction of new proposals, solutions and involvement of diverse stakeholders to contribute to common goals, aligned with the SDGs, among others.
- Enhancing transnational cooperation in the region

Programme Common Output Indicator:

RCO 116 - Jointly developed solutions, Measurement unit:
RCO 084 - Pilot actions developed jointly and implemented in projects, Measurement unit:
RCO 082 - Participations in joint actions promoting gender equality, equal opportunities and social inclusion, Measurement unit:
RCO 087 - Organisations cooperating across borders, Measurement unit:

Programme Common Result Indicator:

RCR 084 - Organisations cooperating across borders after project completion, Measurement unit:
RCR 104 - Solutions taken up or up-scaled by organisations, Measurement unit:
RCR 081 - Completions of joint training schemes, Measurement unit:

Information regarding the data in keep.eu on the programme financing this project

Financing programme

2021 - 2027 Interreg VI-B NEXT Mediterranean Sea Basin (NEXT MED)

Latest month of project-partner-call data publication

2026-06

No. of projects in keep.eu / Total no. of projects (% of projects in keep.eu)

59 / 59 (100%)

No. of project partnerships in keep.eu / Total no. of project partnerships (% of project partnerships in keep.eu)

392 / 392 (100%)

Notes on the data

There are discrepancies in this programme's financial data in keep.eu. Namely, in one or more cases, the sum of the project partners' budgets exceeds the total budget of the respective project. Interact is working with the Programme to correct those figures.

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DigiWAVE : Women Access Versatile Employment in Digital Economy

Description

Thematic information

Partners (4)

Partners map

Summary

Investments, deliverables, policy contributions

Information regarding the data in keep.eu on the programme financing this project

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