Portfolio Opportunity Fund
Digital113
Supporting women’s aspirations to digital careers
Working to improve digital skills among low-income and refugee women and young people in the Czech Republic
The Foundation launched it’s Portfolio Opportunity Fund in summer 2024. Through the fund, the Foundation partners with software companies in the Hg portfolio on projects which forward our mission of helping under-represented groups access education and careers in tech.
The Hg portfolio employs around 100,000 individuals. The Foundation is keen to build on the portfolio’s expertise, ideas, and energy to widen the talent pipeline into the sector – and to help turbocharge portfolio companies’ own charitable and access-focussed programmes. To date, seven partnerships have been supported through the fund, totalling £440,000 in grants from The Hg Foundation and leveraging a further £540,000 from portfolio companies.
Czechitas works to mobilise the valuable workforce potential of women through IT training and job fairs. Support is prioritised for single mothers, women who could not afford to go to university, and women who have fled the war in Ukraine and are struggling to find work.
The Hg Foundation’s €14,500 grant will build on FE fundinfo’s existing support for Czechitas. In 2025, this will enable the non-profit to run two digital academies and a job fair. In addition, the grant will support two women through long-term online coding courses, through the Czechitas Endowment Fund.
We are very grateful for this vital support from The Hg Foundation and FE fundinfo. We will be able to support more women to retrain for IT jobs, as well as funding retraining courses for students from disadvantaged backgrounds who would never otherwise be able to afford them. We will change the lives of women and their families, and young girls in the Czech Republic will gain new role models.
FE fundinfo is thrilled to collaborate with The Hg Foundation in supporting Czechitas, a charity dedicated to empowering women in technology in the Czech Republic. This partnership aligns perfectly with our core values of Trust, Connectivity and Innovation, and we are enthusiastic about contributing to the development of digital skills and opening new career opportunities for women. Together with The Hg Foundation, we aim to make a significant impact by fostering an environment where female talent can thrive and drive innovation in the tech industry.
