MTN Ghana’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Stephen Blewett, has challenged young girls in Ghana to embrace courage, curiosity, and commitment as they prepare to take leadership roles in the country’s fast-growing digital economy.
He made the call during a mentorship session organised by MTN Ghana in collaboration with the Ministry of Communications, Digital Technology and Innovations (MoCDTI) for 100 finalists of the National Girls-in-ICT Programme from the Ashanti and Greater Accra Regions.
Addressing the participants, Mr. Blewett told them they were at the starting point of their digital careers and urged them to take the opportunity seriously. “Your creativity, curiosity, and boldness will help define Ghana’s digital future. Be fearless, keep asking questions, and keep experimenting. The digital economy needs more girls like you,” he said.
The session also featured two of MTN Ghana’s senior female executives — Chief Customer Experience Officer Jemima Kotei-Walsh and Chief Enterprise Officer Angela Mensah-Poku — who shared their personal career journeys. They encouraged the girls to persevere, stay focused, and overcome challenges in the male-dominated tech industry.
As part of MTN’s Women in Technology (WIT) programme, which supports leadership training for female employees, the girls participated in a dedicated mentoring session. They were also educated on Child Online Protection and Data Management, toured MTN’s Network Monitoring Center, and visited a live cell site to understand how mobile connectivity is maintained.
The Girls-in-ICT initiative, spearheaded by the MoCDTI, is a flagship programme designed to equip girls and their teachers with relevant digital skills. It aims to bridge the gender gap in the ICT sector by providing hands-on training in areas such as coding, website design, game development, and animation.
MTN Ghana has been a major supporter of the initiative, investing GHS 17.6 million since 2021. In that time, over 13,000 girls aged between 9 and 15, along with 1,300 teachers from 11 regions, have received training. The programme has reached regions including North-East, Western-North, Ahafo, Bono-East, Bono, Savannah, Northern, Eastern, Greater Accra, Ashanti, and Volta.
Officials from both MTN and the ministry say the goal is to inspire more young women to take up careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) while boosting Ghana’s capacity in innovation and digital services.
Industry analysts note that Ghana’s digital transformation plans will require a more diverse workforce. Programmes like Girls-in-ICT, they say, not only create opportunities for women but also help close the country’s skills gap in emerging technologies.
