MTN to partner with Communications Ministry to train 1,000 girls in ICT

Girls in ICT, an initiative of Ghana’s Ministry of Communication and Digitalisation, has received support from the leading telecommunications company in Ghana, MTN, who have pledged to help train 1,000 young girls.

The initiative by the ministry, which is in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal aimed at achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls in the area of ICT, has been helping train several young girls to acquire basic ICT skills since 2012.

Since 2017, the ministry has ensured the training of about 14, 000 girls in ICT, with MTN coming on board to support the drive in 2021.

Since then, and having invested more than GHS15.6 million in the project, MTN has contributed to training about 9, 000 young women in the subject.

It is not just young girls who have been beneficiaries over the years, but teachers also, who are expected to help more learners in ICT in Ghanaian schools.

These young women and teachers have been given basic ICT skills such as coding, web development, design, and animation development.

At this year’s Girls in ICT training event held in Accra, the Chief Corporate Services and Sustainability Officer at MTN, Madam Adwoa Wiafe, said that the company is committed to offering its support to facilitate the training of 1,000 girls, and 100 teachers.

“We are here to support the ministry in this programme because it is something that is dear to MTN, and these are issues we champion daily. We will continue supporting this programme as long as we can,” she said.

“We believe that everyone deserves the benefit of a modern connected life, so connectivity and inclusion are matters that we champion and this is exactly what the programme seeks to do–educating girls in ICT. This is something that we believe in because MTN believes in leading digital solutions for Africa’s progress, so anything that deals with leadership, inclusion, and innovation in ICT is what we support,” she said.

In her remarks at the climax of this year’s Girls in ICT event held in Accra on July 10, the Minister of Communication and Digitalisaztion, Hon. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, commended the partner for their continuing support, while calling for more partners to come on board to help drive the project forward.

“To our partners, continue supporting us and see it as an investment in future leaders. We have to raise the next generation of future women leaders,” Hon. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful said.

“I want to assure current sponsors that we appreciate your support, but we will always ask for more,” the Minister added.

Digital skills have become a necessity in modern times, and with the Girls in ICT initiative in full swing, more people, girls especially, will develop an interest in the subject and take advantage of it to acquire free digital skills that will help them in a world that has gone digital.