Following the GH¢10 million grant from MTN to support the Girls in Information Communication Technology (GICT) program, the Ministry of Communication and Digitalisation and the Ministry of Education are now exploring the integration of robotics and coding into the educational curriculum of young children.
By introducing young children to such a program, they could discover their unique talents, build teamwork and communication skills at an early stage. Hon. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Minister of Communications and Digitalisation, affirmed that the children in the ICT initiative were the next to be rolled out after the GICT. The need to offer young people this platform is in line with a ready market for students and graduates in ICT-related programs.
Owusu-Ekuful further stated that the country could achieve sustainable development goals 1, 5, and 10, aimed at reducing poverty, achieving gender equality, and reducing inequalities if more girls and women are encouraged to take up leadership roles in the ICT industry.
Samuel Koranteng, MTN’s chief corporate services officer said that the company was pleased to support the government’s efforts to address the female participation gap within the Ghanaian ICT sector. He noted that the company is an advocate of gender equality and women empowerment as it is a signatory to the United Nations women empowerment principles.
“Our core belief as a business is that everyone deserves the benefits of modern, connected life. We, therefore, strive to ensure that men and women benefit equally from ICT,” he said. “Gender empowerment is a key strategic component of MTN’s corporate social investment and over the years we have made significant contributions in this regard. We however do not wait until precocious young girls become seasoned women professionals before taking an interest in them. Our contributions start from the grassroots level”.
In November 2020, the MTN Foundation has commissioned a multipurpose library and robotic center at Dansoman in the Greater Accra region. Costing ¢770,000, the facility situated at the Ebenezer Senior High School costs ¢770,000 targets to equip the youth in the community with knowledge and relevant skills and improve their reading culture.
“MTN Ghana supported the Methodist Girls SHS in the World Robotics Competition and was willing to encourage more students to achieve greater heights in digitization,” Koranteng previously noted.