Ghana’s Digital Future at Stake: Tech for Girls Founder Seeks Investment to Boost Skills Programme
Ghana's Tech for Girls Founder Seeks Investment to Boost Skills Programme
Ghana's Digital Future at Stake: Tech for Girls Founder Seeks Investment to Boost Skills Programme
In a bid to equip more young women with digital skills for the future of work, the Founder of the Heritage and Cultural Society of Africa (HACSA), Ambassador Johanna Swaniker, has called for increased financial and institutional support to expand the Tech for Girls programme. The programme, which was established by Ambassador Swaniker, targets women between the ages of 18 and 35, in line with the United Nations' definition of youth.
Tech for Girls: A Programme Born from Experience
The Tech for Girls programme was born out of Ambassador Swaniker's experience as Ghana's Ambassador to France and UNESCO, where she launched the Girls Can Code initiative to introduce coding to younger girls. This initiative reached about 150 girls, with teachers returning to their schools to pass on the knowledge. The students later presented projects showcasing what they had learned. Building on this experience, Ambassador Swaniker established Tech for Girls to target women between the ages of 18 and 35.
Scaling the Initiative: A Challenge of Funding
Despite growing demand for training in coding, innovation, and digital technology, funding remains the biggest challenge to scaling the Tech for Girls programme. Ambassador Swaniker revealed that enrolment has increased from just 20 participants in the early years to 80 trainees currently studying front-end and back-end software development. However, she said additional investment is needed to complete critical infrastructure, including a cafeteria for trainees.
Empowering Women with Digital Skills: A Wider Social Impact
Empowering women with digital skills has a wider social impact, according to Ambassador Swaniker. In many homes and communities, women play a central role in knowledge sharing. When you equip a woman with technology skills, she is more likely to transfer that knowledge to others. The programme has so far been supported by family members, corporate organisations, and development partners, including the Australian Government through its Direct Aid Programme.
Preparing for the Future: A Call to Action
Ambassador Swaniker appealed to businesses, philanthropists, and development partners to help sustain and expand the initiative. The programme aims to increase enrolment to between 100 and 120 participants in future cohorts, with the possibility of training up to 160 women through a double-shift system if adequate funding becomes available. Ghanaian broadcast journalist and international relations correspondent Harriet Nartey urged the graduates to embrace their roles as innovators and leaders.
Shaping Ghana's Digital Future
Harriet Nartey described technology as the new language of global diplomacy, enabling young people to collaborate across borders through innovation, artificial intelligence, fintech, and digital trade. A young woman in Accra today can develop software for a company in Europe, collaborate with innovators in Asia, or build solutions for clients across Africa and beyond. She encouraged the graduates to mentor others and support future participants.
The Road Ahead
The graduation ceremony also highlighted preparations for the HACSA Foundation's 10th anniversary, which will be marked with a summit and international conference focused on celebrating the organisation's impact and mobilising support to expand initiatives such as Tech for Girls. The future of Ghana's digital future hangs in the balance, and the Tech for Girls programme is at the forefront of this endeavour.
Source: Joy Online
