Zong’s Digital Scholars Program Is Putting 6,000 Young Women on Pakistan’s AI Map

To mark the International Day of the Girl Child, Zong has launched the next phase of its Digital Scholars Program in partnership with Knowledge Platform — and this time, the spotlight is firmly on young women. Of the 10,000 college and university students the program aims to reach over the next year, roughly 6,000 — six in ten — will be female students learning artificial intelligence, analytical thinking, and problem-solving through self-paced, game-based digital learning.

It is a deliberate pivot. The program began as a broad effort to digitize classroom learning for schoolchildren. Now it is turning its sights upward — to college and university-age students — and shifting from basic digital access to the skills that actually determine who participates in an AI-driven economy.

From 300 Schools to 10,000 College Students

The numbers behind the program are substantial. Since its launch, the Digital Scholars Program has reached more than 50,000 students, including over 5,000 young women, across more than 300 schools in 35 cities nationwide, according to Zong’s announcement. Zong’s own press record for 2025 adds texture to that scale: 35,000 in-school students enrolled, 7,500 students certified, 150 teachers trained in digital instruction and blended learning, and learning streams ranging from an online Math Tutoring Program to a self-study program covering English, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Science, plus “Sitarey” — digital learning games and competitions.

The new phase keeps the nationwide footprint but changes the audience and the ambition. Instead of digitizing the learning experience for grades 9 and 10, the program will now engage college and university students with self-paced, game-based modules focused on AI, analytical thinking, and problem-solving. The stated goal: bridge the gap between simply having access to digital learning and actually possessing the skills to participate in the emerging digital economy.

That distinction matters. Pakistan has made real progress on digital access — mobile broadband penetration is widespread — but access alone has never translated into economic participation, especially for women. Programs that hand out connectivity without building capability tend to reproduce the same inequalities, just on a screen. By moving the needle from “access” to “capability,” this phase addresses the harder part of the equation.

Why 60% Women Matters

Empowering young women is not a side note in this phase — it is the headline. Approximately 6,000 young women, representing 60% of the program’s intended reach, are targeted for participation. The program will also place particular emphasis on underserved communities along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), where access to quality digital learning remains limited.

Zong’s Director Strategy and company spokesperson, Nabila Yazdani, said the company is “investing in future-ready skills, digital inclusion and greater participation of young women in the technology ecosystem.” Knowledge Platform’s COO Umair Ali said the partnership will reach 10,000 students with 60% participation from young women, adding that the shared focus is on creating learning opportunities for the communities that need them most.

What the program delivers

• AI-focused curriculum — self-paced, game-based learning modules built around artificial intelligence, analytical thinking, and problem-solving rather than basic computer literacy.
• College and university reach — a step up from the program’s original school-level audience (grades 9 and 10), targeting students closer to the job market.
• Female-first enrollment — 60% of the 10,000 target seats earmarked for young women.
• Underserved regions prioritized — emphasis on CPEC-route communities with limited digital learning opportunities.
• Nationwide scale — building on a foundation of 50,000+ students, 300+ schools, and 35 cities.

The Context: Women Are Still Missing from Pakistan’s Tech Story

Pakistan’s technology sector is growing fast, but women’s participation in it is not keeping pace. A significant gender gap persists in STEM enrollment at the university level, in tech employment, and in freelancing and digital entrepreneurship — even though Pakistan’s freelance economy is among the largest in the world. Cultural barriers, limited mentorship, and uneven access to quality training all play a role.

Corporate-led education programs like this one cannot fix structural inequality on their own. But they can do something valuable: put 6,000 young women through AI-focused learning at no stated cost to them, in a format — self-paced and gamified — that fits around the constraints many female students face, from commuting limitations to family responsibilities. Self-paced digital learning is quietly one of the most effective formats for reaching women in conservative or remote communities, where attending in-person programs can be difficult.

The CPEC focus is also worth noting. The corridor runs through some of Pakistan’s most underserved districts, and while infrastructure investment has flowed along it, human-capital investment has lagged. Targeting digital education at these communities aligns the tech sector with the development narrative the corridor was supposed to deliver.