The women commissioner (WoCOM) of Koforidua Technical University (KTU), Abigail Asor Asante, has called for a partnership between the university and the Women in Forex Ghana (WFG) to train students, especially the ladies in digital financial literacy.
This, she believes would develop the interest in girls to venture into digital trading, reduce the risk of being defrauded in the digital space as the most vulnerable of the species, and also explore employment opportunities.
Women in Forex Ghana under its initiative dubbed ‘Elevate Ghana Forex Project,’ organised the first digital finance project in Ghana where about 1,000 youth were trained freely this year through 20 forex boot camps. The project aims to train 10,000 by 2030, across the sub-region.
The Elevate project, which targeted tertiary students in the various Ghanaian tertiary institutions partnering with students’ unions also reached out to the technical universities and considering the benefits that the initial beneficiaries realized, the WoCOM believes that the project must be continued and sustained in all the 10 technical universities in the country.
The KTU, WoCOM emphasized that equipping students with skills in digital finance market analytics would enhance the financial literacy status of the country greatly and reduce incidents of Ponzi schemes, cyber fraud, and irresponsible investment or spending.
“Again, this is a skill very relevant in our current economic recessionary times to help curb the burdening unemployment situation in the country,” she said.
The Importance of this call
According to the United Nations, the population of Sub-Saharan Africa is projected to double by 2050, and currently, about 60 percent of the population is under the age of 25 years, making Africa the world’s youngest continent.
This means that the burgeoning youth population is both an opportunity and a challenge for the continent, hence the need to put in place innovative measures that will create employment streams and make it more of a blessing than a curse.
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Digital world (Child Online Protection Organization) indicated that internet, digital penetration, and engagements of African youth increased from 24.4 percent in 2018 to 90 percent in 2020, but most of the activities online by the youth are not very productive even though great career and financial opportunities abound online.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Women in Forex Ghana Gifty Annor Sika Asantewah, responding to the partnership call stated that the high penetration rate of young people is an opportunity for the continent’s growth but only if these new generations are fully empowered and trained to realize their best potential, hence the readiness to foster the partnership.
“It’s important that the youth are included in decision-making and given appropriate opportunities for work, training, and to innovate,” Madam Sika said.
She added that this proposal aligns with the special objectives of the Elevate Ghana Forex project and as such, the organisation is prepared to honour this partnership to train 500 students across the 16 regions in 2023.
Women in Forex Ghana collaborated with the Women Commission Office of the Koforidua Technical University to train over 100 students amidst pageantry organisations to bring confidence in the female students as they learn new skills in the financial market.
The team reciprocated this free training at five universities namely the University of Ghana, Catholic University, the University of Energy and Natural Resources, Koforidua Technical University, and the University of Cape coast.
The capital market especially the foreign exchange market is the most liquid market on earth. The global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the forex market in 2019 amounted to roughly US$142 trillion with the entire worth of the market standing at US$2.4 quadrillion with over 170 currencies being traded reported by the Bank of international settlement.
The industry is green in Africa especially Ghana, the more reason why is a need to study and train to bridge the educational and capacity gap in the hope of future opportunities.
The training would adequately equip the youth with a skill set that is relevant in this pandemic era for a better livelihood, enable productive online engagements, reduce cybercrime, and reduce unemployment.
