By: Derek Appiah, Country Manager, Microsoft Ghana
In the 10 years that Microsoft has been operating in Ghana, there has been tremendous growth in broadband availability and internet penetration in the country. This has made it ripe breeding ground for digital literacy and the use of technology to lead economic and social transformation.
When I joined the company I said that youth in Ghana punch above their weight intellectually – and I believe that now more than ever.
It’s one of the reasons I’m excited about our online employability platform, TizaaWorks, launched in May 2015. We see the platform as a one-stop shop for Ghana’s youth to access services to help them improve their employability and entrepreneurship skills. Through our partnership with IICD, we have been able to offer over 1400 Ghanaians career guidance, courses, entrepreneurship support, and access to events and job advertisements.
We are thrilled with these results, but we are now more eager than ever before to reach even more young Ghanaians and give them the tools they need to improve their employability. With this in mind, we are excited to welcome World Vision on board as our new implementing partner for TizaaWorks, as IICD ceases operations in The Hague.
World Vision has proved its worth, having already benefitted over four million children and their families in its capacity as a Christian humanitarian organisation. Now, our aim is to work together with them to equip 20 000 disadvantaged youth from rural communities with the skills they need to successfully enter the job market and compete with their counterparts in the cities.
We are eager to work with World Vision to extend our reach and identify new ways to connect young Ghanaians with opportunities for training, employment and entrepreneurship. This is a great way for us to continue working to fulfil our goal of playing an active role in the transformation of Ghana’s education and youth through the use of technology.
