Digitalisation must be available to all — Vodafone Ghana CEO
The Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone Ghana, Patricia Obo-Nai, is pushing for digitalisation to be accessible to all, particularly society’s most vulnerable.
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“What we should see in our scope of work is that we’re changing lives... touching lives by the very technology that we develop and the way we use it,” she said.
Ms Obo-Nai said this at the 2023 Optical Networking and Communication Conference and Exhibition plenary session in San Diego, California.
It is the largest global conference and exhibition for optical communications and networking of professionals
During her plenary talk titled: “Harnessing Digitalisation for Effective Social Change,” Ms Obo-Nai highlighted super care, a digital platform that has made a significant difference in the lives of people who are speech impaired or deaf.
She shared how the Vodafone Ghana team employed sign language experts, trained some customer-facing employees, and introduced customised packages to help this vulnerable group stay connected.
Ms Obo-Nai also talked about Instant Schools, a learning platform that connects thousands of teachers and students in Ghana to e-learning materials from the basic to the secondary level of education.
According to a news release issued in Accra, “Over 25,000 learners in Ghana are now connected and can engage with basic curriculum, whether at home or in school.”
Ms Obo-Nai further mentioned how technology was improving health outcomes for pregnant women in the region.
She said over 20 per cent of pregnant women haemorrhage on their way to the hospital because of bad roads and lack of access to transport.
On some key issues standing in the way of digital connectivity in Africa, Ms Obo-Nai pointed to poor network coverage, low device penetration, low digital literacy, and a lack of relevant digital content.
She emphasised the need for a deeper collaboration between governments and the private sector, saying “No one agency or company can address this problem. We must all work together to ensure that we leave no one behind,” she said.
