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The Administrator for the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communication (GIFEC) says the provision of ICT skills to women and girls will move them out of poverty at a faster rate.
Mr Kofi Asante said a total of 400 women and girls have been trained in the four chosen communities as part of the ICT Skills for Entrepreneurship and Women Empowerment Programme.
Mr Asante, speaking at the end of the programme in Asankrangwa, expressed the hope that the project would improve employment opportunities for women in ICT, increase access to information and improve ICT skills of women.
He said it would also improve access to IT enabled services and increase ICT literacy of Persons with disabilities in Asankrangwa and other communities.
He said there is growing consensus for all to acquire basic digital skills, which are the fundamentals needed to perform basic ICT tasks to enrich lives and enable people to be part of the information and knowledge society of the 21st century.
He said as part of the President's digital Ghana agenda, the Ministry of Communications through GIFEC commissioned the Smart Community Programme.
The objective of the initiative is to leverage on the power of ICT to create Smart Communities, whereby people would have easy access to essential services such as healthcare, education, water, food and security.
Mr Asante said to this end, GIFEC piloted the programme in four communities including Goaso, Asumura, Berekum and Asankragwa.
The Administrator said in Asangrankwa, key institutions such as the Asankrangwa Senior High School, Asankrangwa Secondary Technical School, the chief's palace, and the Community ICT Centre were fully connected to the internet with an enabled WIFI point.
"In order to maximize the impact of the Smart Community Project, it is essential to equip beneficiary communities with the requisite digital skills, which is a strong pillar in the achievement of a digital economy," he said.
He said GIFEC was providing digital skills training tailored for both the formal and informal sector, including artisans.
Mr Asante said "the Fund also provides ICT equipment and internet connectivity to schools and community ICT Centers to improve access to ICT services in marginalized communities".
