The Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC), has equipped ICT centres in Greater Accra’s 29 districts with over 500 laptops to assist in the training of 1,000 girls, as part of the Girls-in-ICT programme.
GIFEC did this in collaboration with the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence (GI-KACE), and the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation (MoCD), which oversees the Girls-in-ICT programme.
The girls are being trained in a 5-day exercise which began on Monday, 1st July. Day 1 of the training focused on computer programming (CP), CP language, and careers in CP. They were also introduced to text editor, and programming basics. Day 2 focused on coding with Scratch, navigating Scratch’s interface and its features, and creating games, while Day 3 and 4 focused on animation and web design respectively. Day 5 will see a continuation of web design training.
GIFEC’s CEO, Eva Andoh-Poku, stated that by supporting the MoCD on this project, GIFEC was supporting the entire nation. “Our core mandate is to bridge the digital divide and to provide ICT equipment and devices across the country, to provide rural connectivity across the country, and to provide capacity building and awareness to the unserved and the underserved in the communities in Ghana,” she said.
“We provide the laptops and the desktops to help the Girls-in-ICT programme, and in addition to that, we provide the technical support,” she added, explaining how GIFEC ensures the girls receive good content for their training.
Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, who toured some of the training centres and visited the girls, announced that the MoCD aimed to train 3,000 girls in three regions. The Girls-in-ICT training programme will culminate in a regional competition this weekend, which will see 1,000 girls partaking. The top 100 girls will be awarded with laptops, the top 10 will win laptops, while their schools either get furnished with an ICT lab, or receive more ICT materials if they already have a lab. The top three girls will receive laptops and cash prizes.
“This Greater Accra Girls-in-ICT programme will be one of the most keenly contested, because all the centres that I’ve been in, the girls have demonstrated extreme skill even after only two days training. They’re very articulate, they’re confident, and all of them say they’re winning,” The minister said, expressing her excitement for the upcoming competition.
State of Ghana’s Internet Connectivity
Asked about bettering the state of internet connectivity in Ghana, Eva Andoh-Poku Eva clarified that GIFEC does not provide internet but facilitates it. She revealed that the government was working to ensure that internet connectivity reaches Ghana’s unserved areas. “We call it the Ghana Rural Telephony and Digital Inclusion Programme, and by that, the government has taken a facility of €155 million to ensure that each and every corner in Ghana is actually connected under the Rural Telephony Programme,” she explained.
The €155 million will be used to provide 2,016 rural telephony centres, providing connectivity for 3.5 million people across Ghana. Of that number, 1,010 sites have been constructed, with 643 of them connected. “We’re looking to finish all the 2,016 by the end of September this year,” she assured.
By Derrick Kafui Deti – Digital Economy Magazine
