The government has reiterated its pledge to focus on creating opportunities to help young women succeed in the tech industry.
According to the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation, it will use its established platforms to discover and nurture the creative talents of young women in the Information and Communication Technology sector.
Speaking at the Ms Geek Ghana, an initiative designed to highlight the talents of young women in the ICT field, the Minister of Communication and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, noted that “I’m glad to note that we even have a submission from a 12-year-old who I believe made it to the list of ten finalists. She is even younger than the catchment list and so today, we celebrate not just a contest but a movement that transcends borders, challenges norms, and empowers females to engage actively in the field of technology.”
“It also helps us to work towards attaining the UN Sustainable Development Goal five, which aims to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.”
Ms Geek competition is an entrepreneurial competition that originated as Ms Geek Rwanda in 2014 but was renamed Miss Geek Africa in 2017.
The purpose of this is to create awareness and encourage young girls between the ages of 13 and 21 to submit projects that solve socio-economic problems through technological innovations.
Ghana has participated twice in this competition and for both events, placed 2nd and 1st on the African front. Ghana’s nominee for 2023 Ms Geek Africa was Ms Selasie Domi-Kuwornu, the current Miss Geek Africa champion.
She won with an ICT solution named “Kasa-Cash,” a solution that seeks to enable people who are unlettered, physically challenged, or underserved to perform financial transactions without third-party assistance.
A total of 66 applications from across the country were received. Subsequently, 15 best ICT solutions were selected.
The applicants enrolled in a residential Master Class from 29 July to 2nd August 2024.
After the master class, the 15 applicants were further shortlisted to 10. Their projects range from environmental sustainability to healthcare digitization and agriculture management.