Aboitiz Foundation invests big in women

Artificial intelligence learns by using data that has been labeled or tagged, by humans. Data labeling or tagging, also known as data annotation, has become a digital occupation and source of employment for many.

AI data annotation or AIDA is an ideal job for stay-at-home mothers and a program to train thousands of women on it called Elevate AIDA is being undertaken by the partnership of Aboitiz Foundation Inc., Connected Women (CW), the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU), Philippine Commission on Women and the United Nations Women.

Elevate AIDA is being scaled up to reach more women across the Philippines with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) by Aboitiz Foundation and OPAPRU on 29 May 2025. Aboitiz Foundation president Ginggay Hontiveros-Malvar and OPAPRU head and presidential peace adviser Carlito G. Galvez Jr. signed the MoU that expands the scope of Elevate AIDA to include conflict-affected and conflict-vulnerable areas and train 300,000 women in the next three years.

Galvez said there is a very good reason to invest in the digital upskilling of women.

“The Elevate AIDA project reflects a major shift towards innovative peace and development programs that are capable of responding to ever evolving technologies, socioeconomic landscapes, and most importantly respond to the needs, dreams, and aspiration of people in conflict, vulnerable communities,” he said.

The presidential peace adviser added that Elevate AIDA helps promote the objectives of OPAPRU.

“Indeed, the partnership between the OPAPRU and Aboitiz Foundation exemplifies what the whole-of-nation approach to peace building is all about. The MoU signed today not only affirms our strong partnership, but also demonstrates how sustainable and lasting peace is a shared responsibility. Each and every one of us has a stake in the peace process. Everyone can and must contribute to the cause of peace,” Galvez said.

According to Hontiveros-Malvar, Elevate AIDA will be implemented in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Cordillera Administrative Region and other areas with underprivileged and underskilled young women. This initiative aims to provide essential training and job opportunities empowering these women to enhance their skills and improve their economic prospects.

“We are focused on upskilling and reskilling women to become job-ready for the future, hopefully increase household income in both urban and remote communities through digital entrepreneurship, freelancing, and remote work opportunities, provide access to technology and training, and support the national and regional development agendas specific to digital transformation,” she told attendees at the MoU signing ceremony.

“As program graduates, all our women will become part of Connected Women’s work pool. It’s also about building this larger and larger community of women that support each other. And everyone will contribute to the digital economy while helping to stimulate local economic activity within their respective regions,” the Aboitiz Foundation president added.

Elevate AIDA training costs P25,000 per trainee, according to Hontiveros-Malvar.

But the huge investment needed is not impossible to meet with more partners joining in and supporting the cause, she said.

The Aboitiz Foundation president recalled that Elevate AIDA started with only 60 trainees in Cebu during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“If we do it together and we have the right partners, we can hopefully scale it to 300,000 women,” she said.

The pioneers of the program will also help to serve as inspiration to countless others in learning digital skills, according to Hontiveros-Malvar.

“This is something really significant that we can do together. So, let’s walk forward together, hand in hand, heart to heart, because this isn’t just our program, it’s really about a dream coming to life,” she said.