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Tech Needs Girls celebrates women in technology in style
Speakers at the event

Tech Needs Girls celebrates women in technology in style

Tech Needs Girls, a training and mentorship programme, last Friday hosted a night of networking and capacity building for its committed and dedicated mentors at the Marvel Mini Golf Center in Accra. 

The organisation which has trained over 3,000 girls across the country focuses on mentoring young adults in the area of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. It has also expanded its boundaries by setting up Girl Tech hub in Burkina Faso.

The event brought together over 250 mentors from 8 regions to network and to be inspired by influential and successful women in the technology space in Ghana.

Speaking at the event Mrs Regina Honu, Founder and CEO of Soronko Solutions said the mentors have been very helpful to the Tech Needs Girls initiative and hosting them was a way of rewarding them for their hard work.

The 2016 Vlisco Ambassador said she believes that blending fashion and technology is necessary to advance the development of information technology (IT) in the country.

Mrs Honu said as part of her campaign as the Vlisco Ambassador, is to be able to make an impact in the lives of young people by merging fashion and technology. 

She said mentoring young girls and teaching them how to code, create technology, build websites, mobile and web applications will not only build their confidence but give them a skill that is in huge demand in Ghana and the world at large.

Yvette Atekpe speaking at the event

In addition she said "There is such huge diversity gap where there are not a lot of females that create technology so we need to bridge that gap also.”

"So for me Tech Needs Girls is my way of ensuring that we get more girls not just to use technology but to be able to create it" she added.

The Project Coordinator of Tech Needs Girls Ms Delphina Agyare said mentoring girls who are passionate about IT, mathematics and engineering is an inspiration on its own.

She said one of the benefits of being a mentor is the introduction to a large networking group as well as securing internship opportunities to expand their access  to technology. 

"We also give mentors a seed capital and a mentorship package to start tech needs girls in their own regions," she added.

Ms Joana Amavih a mentor and computer science student at the University of Ghana expressed gratitude for the opportunity to make an impact in the lives of younger people.

She said the experience has spurred her to learn more in other to transfer what she has learnt to the younger ones. 

According to her, being mentored and trained in certain aspects of a chosen career is an opportunity she did not get. So she is doing her best to ensure the mentees get the best out of the mentorship programme. 

Models at the event wearing Vlisco outfits

She explained that when it comes to most tertiary institutions, there are not enough provisions for practical skills and training...so it’s mostly up to the students to find avenues to learn the needed practical skills they need for the world of work.

Ms Amavih said although she sometimes gets discouraged due to the technicality of computing, she is inspired to persevere due to the success stories of women in IT.

Prominent women in the technology industry Farida Bedwei (CoFounder and CTO of Logicel), Enyonam Kumahor (Managing Partner of Cobalt Partners) and Yvette Atekpe (Regional Managing Director at IS Internet Solutions Ghana Ltd) took time to narrate their journey in the IT industry to inspire the mentors .

The main highlight for the night was the Vlisco’s prêt-à-couture, prêt-à-Porte fashion show which saw dazzling models from Vlisco on the catwalk. Their makeup was done by Maybelline Ghana. Vlisco prêt-à-couture is a tailoring service that creates waves of excitement for women who love the premium quality of Vlisco’s fabrics, but have longed for quality tailoring to match.  This service creates make-to-measure Vlisco outfits in a few steps for a beautiful finished garment in only a matter of weeks.

A fun-filled, educative and interactive networking session, it was a night where technology and fashion came alive. 

The event organisers thanked their sponsors namely Marvels Ghana, Cobalt Partners, Vlisco, Maybelline Ghana and Christie Brown for their support. 

There was also raffle where participants won prizes to raise funds for the first all-girls coding and human centered design school in West Africa. 

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