Vice President Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang has called for greater efforts to ensure girls and young women have equal opportunities to participate in Ghana’s technology-driven future.

She said digital skills were becoming increasingly important as technology continued to reshape education, employment, business and other sectors of the economy.

The Vice President made the call at the graduation ceremony of the fifth cohort of the Heritage and Cultural Society of Africa Foundation’s (HACSA) Tech4Girls programme in Accra on Tuesday, September 29.

The ceremony saw 80 young women graduate from the programme and formed part of activities marking HACSA’s 10th anniversary.

Prof. Opoku-Agyemang said initiatives such as Tech4Girls were helping to equip women and girls with skills needed to take advantage of opportunities in the digital economy.

“A 10-year anniversary is an occasion to highlight what has been accomplished and to reflect on what may yet be achieved,” she said.

She said the Tech4Girls programme provides training in software coding, artificial intelligence, digital literacy, web development and cybersecurity, while helping participants transition into internships.

Prof. Opoku-Agyemang said the work being undertaken by HACSA formed part of broader efforts to expand digital skills training among young Ghanaians.

She said government was working with the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service to extend foundational digital skills training.

She also highlighted the Girls in ICT programme, which introduces girls to coding, animation and computing.

According to the Vice President, a new partnership with Huawei will provide artificial intelligence training to 3,000 girls under the Girls in ICT programme.

She said the initiative would also create a pathway for participants into the government's One Million Coders programme.

“Girls must have an equal place in this world,” she said.

The Vice President also said the government was partnering with tertiary institutions as part of efforts to expand the One Million Coders programme.

She disclosed that 50,000 training places had been reserved for persons with disabilities under the programme.

The allocation is part of the government's stated effort to make digital skills development more inclusive, with the programme targeting coding, cybersecurity, data analytics and related digital skills.

Prof. Opoku-Agyemang urged the graduates to apply their digital skills to practical challenges in their communities and across the country.

She said their skills should not be limited to technology-related careers but could also be applied to areas such as agriculture, health, education and governance.

She encouraged them to continue learning, develop products that respond to people's needs and use technology to solve problems within their communities.

The Vice President urged the graduates to see themselves as active participants in Ghana's transformation and remain adaptable as technology continues to evolve.

The graduation marks the latest cohort of HACSA's Tech4Girls programme, which seeks to equip young women with digital skills and prepare them for further education, employment and entrepreneurship.