Tech Needs Girls Ghana mentors and empowers girls from the slum through coding

Tech Needs Girls Ghana is a project by Soronko Solutions a social enterprise that uses technology to drive human potential. Tech needs Girls Ghana aims to mentor and empower young girls to lead and innovate by learning to code. The program also brings together young women who  The girls get to meet young role models they can look up to and get examples of how these women are using technology to effect change in their lives and in the community. The program was founded by Regina Agyare and Rasheeda Yehuza. These ladies are both software developers and run tech startups in Ghana. There are 15 mentors below the age of 30 who are either computer scientists or computer engineers.

are excelling in the field of technology to mentor and teach the next generation of girls.

Only 30% of the around 7 million people working in the information and communication (ICT) sector are women. The ICT sector is rapidly growing, creating around 120 000 new jobs every year. Due to differences in demands and skills – and despite soaring unemployment – there may be a lack of 900 000 skilled ICT workers in 2020.  - http://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/women-ict However women are less equipped than men with the necessary skills to participate in this space. Available research shows that the number of women enrolled in technology courses in universities in Ghana is lower than men.

On the 25^th of January 2014,Tech needs girls Ghana took their third workshop to the slums in Nima. This workshop was in partnership with Achievers book club started by 14 year old Amina who despite excelling at school was forced into early marriage at the age of 12. Amina decided to fight the system and co-founded the club to help prevent similar situation to be suffered by other young in the community. The club now has 250 girls from the slums in Nima, Maamobi and Newtown. The workshop was for 60 girls to introduce them to algorithms, problem solving, critical thinking and creating software. The girls were taught basic HTML to allow them to create their own website which they could use to share their stories or bring awareness to an issue.

As a warm up the girls were engaged in science and math games which was fun and educative. We had 10yr old Zuweira solving complex math questions faster than we could reach for a calculator. The girls were challenged to be innovative through taking part in and challenge where they had to present the website they had built and explain the HTML code to a panel of judges.

Group A-The Professionals won the challenge with their great presentations skills, creative website and excellent code. The winning group received special awards and all the girls received certificates for participation in the program. The program will continue with coding classes that will happen every Saturday. The girls will go on to learn how to build other software and mobile applications. We are hoping to get more of the girls going on to study and pursue careers in in ICT. The girls can also start to sell the software they develop to benefit economically and socially and start their own technology entrepreneurial ventures. Most importantly with these new skills the girls will learn to think critically, problem solve, excel in school and have the ability to create technology which will shape the future.  We are also hoping to get the community to realize that when you educate girls and give them the right skills to thrive, the whole community thrives too. We believe the next Mark Zukerburg (Founder of Facebook) and the next technological breakthrough will be from a 12 year old girl from the slum in Ghana.

Images from the event can be found here - https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.367158273427215.1073741836.259788400830870&type=1

Below is a letter of appreciation written by one of our Mentees.
   

Letter of Appreciation - Written by Tech Needs Girls Mentee

I wouldn’t like to circumlocute, but go straight to the point why I vehemently or vividly want to talk about the event that just went on ( Tech Needs Girls).
First and foremost ,we all know that, boys are so much into IT so I was very excited for the training because the trainees were calm and unbiased.

Secondly ,I would be extremely happy to be an IT technician because my conscience tells me that I can one day compete with boys ,who think they are beyond perfection in terms of IT. Frankly speaking ,I enjoyed every part of the program especially the aspect where we gave our presentation.

I know you guys have spent a lot of money in organizing this program ,but I assure you that,the almighty God will pay you in return. You and I know that girls are daft in IT but this program has really thought as a great lesson

To close down the curtains,I will like to take this opportunity to thank all the organizers for a good work done. May the almighty God bless you, grant you long life and prosperity and may he also increase you in knowledge

Samira Mohammed
Achievers Bookclub                                                                                                                                                                                  

SSS Girls in Kumasi Create Technology, get mentored and learn to code –Tech Needs Girls

On the 1^st of June 2013, if you happened to be at the KNUST Campus , Computer Science department to be precise, you would have passed by a very colourful banner announcing an interactive workshop organized by Soronko Solutions. On this day a movement had begun which will continue region wide till we bridge the gender gap in technology. The Tech Needs Girls Interactive Workshop is a hands on workshop that takes girls from Senior Secondary Schools and offers them the opportunity to be mentored by female computer scientists on how to code and create technology. The girls are also empowered to think more entrepreneurial, pursue their passions and careers in science and technology. 

The ultra modern Tech Hub built by Vodafone one of the sponsors of the event, was the venue for the workshop. 50 girls from 3 Senior Secondary Schools, Kumasi Anglican Senior Secondary School, Youth Institute for Science and Technology and Elite College attended the workshop. The girls were assigned to 8 groups of five with 8 mentors who also served as role models. The first session broke misconceptions and introduced the girls to other females who were excelling in careers in Technology. The girls also discovered that a basic website and mobile application could be developed in 30 minutes. They even got a chance to witness a simple java application being developed by one of the mentors in 4 minutes. The next session was a brief talk on entrepreneurship by the Business Development Manager of VOTO Mobile and how technology offered a lot of career opportunities for women by Delores Maxwell the Group Manager of Technology Service Management, Ecobank Group. The girls also got a chance to see applications built by their mentors who demoed innovative applications such as an online voting application, an e-learning, e-health application, android spa game etc. The girls were also introduced to logical thinking and algorithms through a quick quiz to test their logic skills, the use of Scratch a visual programming language and Azonto the latest dance craze from Ghana. They were also taken through how to use social media such as Facebook and twitter.

During the interactive session saw the girls learnt more about HTML coding, mobile applications development, Google docs, networking and social media. The girls also took part in an innovation challenge where they were asked to develop a technology solution which allowed students who did not understand what was taught in class to get further information from their teachers or fellow students. The winning team designed an innovative e-learning web application that integrated social media, email, SMS and an android mobile application in their solution. The winning team won wonderful prizes and partial scholarships to study a Software Development Course at Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT the first Advanced Information Technology Institute (AITI) in Ghana. The winning Group’s mentor was also awarded a prize for mentoring and guiding her group to think creatively. At the end of the program each participant received a certificate of participation. 

The workshop ended with great feedback from the girls who enjoyed the session, learnt some coding and believed they could do the extraordinary. The mentees were also excited at the option of a continuous mentorship from their mentors. This workshop was made possible by support from Fidelity Bank Ghana, Diamond Capital, iSpace Foundation, Dreamoval Foundation, Vodafone, Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT, Rolls Communications, Pepsi, Higrade Media, mFriday, TechHub and Ghana Think.

Women in Technology

So my last post ended with introducing you to the importance of a business plan. I don`t think I can stress enough on how important that is. Well today I want to blog about Women in Techcnology.

Ever since I decided to start my own technology company, I have discovered this new drive to encourage and support women in technology (http://www.womenwhotech.com , http://girlsinict.org/ ). I love it when women can participate in any endeavor without being restricted or told some things are for men only. Ok don`t get me wrong. I do think some things are for men only like peeing standing up. Women can do that too but really why would any woman want to do that.

Technology as a tool serves various purposes and women in our daily lives need tools to help us juggle having a career, raising a family and keeping a home. So it makes more sense for women to use technology to make their lives easier. I just joined this association for Ghanaian women in IT. You can check out their website at www.ghanawomeninit.org. I think it is great. I spoke to the woman who founded it and she told me that even starting the association was difficult. Most of the women present work as IT professionals in various companies and not most of them were in managerial roles. So you can imagine that convening weekday meetings where women would have to seek permission to come and then rush home to play wife, mother or girlfriend is not so easy.

In the early stage of my career, I felt that being a female programmer I had to work twice as hard to prove myself. The other thing I had to learn to deal with was learning how to work in a team. I had to learn how to fit in the all-boys club. I was mostly the only female in IT in the places I worked. There were days I just craved having other women to talk to about silly things like whether wearing polka dots underwear was sexy or strange. However I soon learnt to adjust. I always wondered why more women were not encouraged to purse IT related careers or study IT. In my IT class in university there were only three women. So I could rarely skip class because the lecturer would definitely notice my absence. After university when I decided to pursue IT as a career I really didn’t have any role models. There was no woman I personally knew in IT making a difference.

I even remember someone telling me that after a while I would give up programming and do something else. She herself had started her career in IT and decided to go into another field not IT related. I never asked why she switched but like I always say different strokes for different folks. I love programming and technology. In fact to make this clear it would take nothing short of the voice of God telling me to leave technology before I would even consider it.

Some women may think that being in technology might make you a social misfit which involves you always sitting behind your computer alone. Some see the nerdy technology enthusiast and associate that with the image of how they will turn out. None of that is the case. It depends on the individual. I don`t have the stereotypical geeky look. I don’t even look that smart. On a good day I can be out partying just like everyone else. My social skills are not awkward. I can carry a conversation and have no problem with public speaking. 

Programming is about solving a problem. I know there are many women out there who solve problems every day. From something as simple as how to accessorize an otherwise bland outfit to designing a complex algorithm to solve a traffic problem in a busy urban center.

The reality I have recently discovered is that there are quite a number of women in IT. Infact more than I thought. Yes the numbers are not as good as they could be but I believe the number is picking up. The problem is that they are working quietly and no one really hears of them that is the case in Ghana for example. 

 

I want to celebrate women like Sandy Lerner: co-founder of Cisco Systems, Sandy Jen: co-founder of Meebo and Sheryl Kara Sandberg: COO of Facebook to name a few. In Ghana I want to celebrate the founder of Camelot, Mrs. Elizabeth Villars who was one of the first qualified female Computer Programmers in Ghana, Farida Bedwei Managing Director at Logiciel and IT Consultant at G-LIFE financial services, Anne Amuzu Co founder of NandiMobile and Regina Agyare Social Entrepreneur at Soronko Solutions.

 

If the few women who are in IT make their voices heard we can encourage and motivate more women to join the fold. I have decided to start and make sure I get more women interested in computer science, programming and IT in general. Being a tech start up I would love to get more female developers on board. Men don`t feel left out; there is always a special place for you at Soronko Solutions. 

I think it would be great to have both men and women to enrich innovation, creativity and problem solving in tech companies.

Signed

Girl Tech Start Up

The Aha Moment

Hi my name is Regina and I am addicted to all things technology. For a young Ghanaian woman I seem to be fine disclosing my age. I am proud of how far I have come and have no desire to do any calculus to my age to bring it to a more appropriate figure. I am 29 years old. I am a software programmer by profession and a tech geek by nature.

I am also a social entrepreneur and have started my own social business called Soronko Solutions. Soronko is an Akan word which means “Unique”. Thus I intend to provide unique technology solutions that bring about a social change.

In Ghana starting a business has its challenges. Now that is let’s say one part of a very complex puzzle. Then there is starting a tech company, which is another part. Then there is being female and starting a tech company which is perceived as a male dominated field. The last piece of the puzzle is starting a social business.

So I want you to come along with me on the journey. I can assure you it will be a very interesting one. For individuals who are planning to start a business in Ghana this can serve as a guide. For women trying to enter the tech world, it will give you a realistic view of what to expect.

Ok ready or not buckle up and let’s start………..

When I was younger in typical fashion in the 80’s my parents wanted me to be a doctor. In fact I was sold on the idea. I used to imagine myself in a white coat with my stethoscope rushing in to save a life. When the question was asked in primary school what do you want to be when you grow up, as other children fumbled, I had the answer. I was going to be a Doctor. Doctor Regina, that just had a nice ring to it. This was until class 6 when my dad brought home a computer. I was fascinated with the object. It looked like a TV but had too many other things attached to it to be one. My dad was like it was not a toy but something to help us learn. I started to explore this new gadget and fell in love with it immediately. Then I read that you could study computer science and learn to give the computer a set of instructions to get it to produce a desired result. I just immediately dropped my imaginary white coat and stethoscope and picked up the mouse and keyboard and said I wanted to be a Computer Scientist.

It was only in Senior Secondary School that I decided that I wanted to be a programmer. At the time I was the only one in my science class in Senior Secondary School who wanted to be a programmer. Most of my friends wanted to be doctors, chemist, and pharmacists. So I volunteered to work in the computer science lab. I was always on the computer. I knew I had to take my math seriously so I did.

As you would expect Computer Class was my favorite class. It would have been great to say that I wrote my first computer program in Senior Secondary School but that was not the case. I knew I wanted to be a programmer but at the time I did not have enough resources and guidance to help my take my passion to actual code writing.

After Senor Secondary School, the next big thing was where to go to university. Once again most of my friends wanted to go to University in the States. At the time, I felt that Ghana needed skilled people to stay and develop the nation. I knew if I went to school abroad, chances were that I would stay there.

Luckily for me I was introduced to Ashesi University by my Dad. Ashesi was a great university that gave me the skills set and more to excel in my career and to be a great programmer. At Ashesi, my love for programming became complete since I could now write applications that performed certain functions.

After University, I got a job at this great software company. That company was my baptism of fire. There I was given challenging tasks day in and day out and my gender was never an issue. Then I went on to the banking industry. To be honest, the banking industry can be exciting if you are a banker. For a programmer it can be a little frustrating since you are not always challenged and can be quite restricted. I stayed in the banking industry seduced by the comfort and security of a paycheck but harassed internally to do more with my skill sets.

Then early on this year, I had the Aha Moment. Being courageous is not the absence of fear but forging ahead even when you are afraid. So with that I left the corporate world and joined the scary world of entrepreneurship.

Deciding to start a company is one thing but as an entrepreneur you must really ask yourself what value you intend to bring. As a techie I am driven by the passion I have in my craft but being passionate may not necessarily ensure that you build a successful company.

People ask why don’t you still keep your job and do the business as a side thing. The truth is that can be an option depending on what business you intend to do. But truthfully starting a company is a lot of work and if you want it to take off fully you will have to commit to it 100%

So the next thing to think about is what service I intend to offer, who my target customer base is, what my revenue models are, how to pay for my start up and setup costs. In short I needed a business plan.

Not having a business plan is like walking through a maze with blindfolds on. You may think you know where you are going but you will discover in time that you are lost and no one else knows where you are trying to go.

Well look at the time. Unfortunately I have to leave now. I am working on this project which I will be sharing with you. My next blog post will continue from where I left off.So this journey is now on auto pilot.......

Signed

Girl Tech Start Up