According to ghana news agency: Ghana's digital future will be led by its daughters. 'We've witnessed incredible moments-girls from the most remote villages lighting up at the sight of their first laptop, and many evolving into university-level coders,' said Madam Adwoa Wiafe, Chief Corporate Services and Sustainability Officer for MTN Ghana. 'That spark, that possibility, is exactly why we're committed to this cause.'
This year alone, MTN Ghana has dedicated GHC 17.6 million to the Girls in ICT programme, with GHC 2 million earmarked specifically for the Volta Region. Far from being a corporate obligation, Madam Wiafe emphasized that the investment was a strategic contribution to national development. 'We're not just distributing gadgets-we are offering lifelines,' she stated. 'We are empowering girls with the skills, confidence, and access they need to thrive in the digital world.'
So far, the initiative has trained over 15,000 girls nationwide, provided thousands of laptops, and sparked renewed purpose through mentorship and hands-on digital literacy programmes. Additionally, teachers and ICT facilitators have received targeted training, ensuring the long-term sustainability of the initiative.
During the event, Madam Wiafe shared a poignant story that moved many in the audience. 'I met a young woman who joined the 2019 cohort. Today, she's an ICT student at the university. That is not just a statistic-that is transformation in action. That is the future.' This year's edition expanded its impact by including differently-abled girls, a move that underscored MTN's commitment to equity. 'Inclusivity is not just a policy-it's our practice,' Wiafe affirmed. 'Every girl, regardless of her physical ability or where she lives, deserves access to the tools of tomorrow.'
MTN's dedication to ICT education stretches beyond the Girls in ICT initiative. Through its Foundation, the company has: built and furnished ICT labs and libraries in over 30 schools in the past year alone, established a state-of-the-art robotics center at Mafi Girls SHS, whose students have twice won the World Robotics Competition, sponsored STEM scholarships for girls, provided universities and senior high schools with advanced ICT infrastructure. 'We believe the next digital innovator can rise from any small town in Ghana-but she needs the right tools, the right platform, and the belief that she belongs in that space,' Madam Wiafe said.
Led by the Ministry of Communications, Digitalisation and Innovation, the Girls in ICT programme is designed to create a more inclusive and technologically empowered Ghana. MTN's strategic collaboration with the Ministry is a powerful example of how the private sector can accelerate national development. 'This is not charity-it's a national imperative,' Madam Wiafe stressed. 'Without digital skills, there is no future. And without girls in that future, it's incomplete. MTN is here to help complete the picture.'
The Volta Region event marks only a milestone in a growing national movement. The programme is now heading to the Upper East and Upper West Regions, where more girls will take their first steps into the world of programming, robotics, and digital innovation. From dusty chalkboards to dynamic code, from handwritten notes to hardware design, a new generation of Ghanaian girls is stepping confidently into the digital era-writing their own stories, one keystroke at a time.
