Accra, Ghana//-Members of the MTN Ghana’s Women In Technology (WIT) today mentored over 100 Girls-in-ICT (GIICT ) as part of this year’s Open Day of the National Girls-in-ICT Day Celebration held in Accra on Monday, 7 August 2023.
The Girls-in-ICT drawn from the Bono East, and Ahafo regions had the unique opportunity to be mentored by these great members of WIT who are workers of the MTN Ghana’s ICT and technology department.
The Open Day for the Girls-in-ICT Initiative was instituted to provide an opportunity for girls. It is an international initiative adopted in 2012 by all International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Member States including Ghana.
It is aimed at exposing young girls to opportunities in the ICT sector through mentorship workshops and open day activities to prepare them for ICT related professions in future.
In her welcome address, MTN Ghana’s Chief Corporate Services and Sustainability Officer, Madam Adwoa Wiafe said the mentoring session and other activities of the celebration would further deepen the insight of the girls into the nature of the world of work in the ICT industry.
This she believes would encourage them to the point of knowing that they can also take up careers in this lucrative but male-dominated industry.
The Ministry of Communication and Digitization and its partners of the Girls-in-ICT Initiative recently revealed that so far 980 girls were trained in the Central region in 2019; while 584 girls were trained in the Oti Region in 2020. Also, 1000 girls were trained in the Western North and North East Regions.
Madam Wiafe told journalists at the sideline of the event that MTN Ghana as part of its 25th anniversary celebration, had committed an amount of GHc12 million to the Ministry of Communication and Digitization in support of the Girls in ICT project.
The first part of the fund was presented to the Minister of Communications and Digitalisation, Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful at a presentation ceremony in Accra.
The funding is to cover the cost of the project over a three-year period to support the government’s efforts to empower and encourage girls to consider studies and careers in ICT.
She also added the company is also constructing a $25 million ICT Hub in Accra which aimed at creating jobs and socio-economic development in Ghana and across Africa.
The Ghana ICT Hub also aimed to develop an ICT ecosystem in the areas of health, agriculture and education, through on-site and remote access delivery to facilitate skills development for the youth in Ghana, she explained.
Miss Cindy Aidoo, a student of Kenyasi Anglican N0.1 Junior High School (JHS) and Miss Anita Tweneboa Adu-Gyamfi of Mim Model JHS, both in the Ahafo Region used the occasion to express appreciation to MTN Ghana for giving them such a wonderful opportunity.
