Glitz Africa: Ursula Owusu-Ekuful gets Excellence in Governance award

The ceremony which happened over the weekend at the Kimpinski Hotel Gold Coast City in Accra celebrated the Ablekuma West lawmaker for her impeccable role in driving digitization in Ghana bringing into reality several initiatives and innovations within Ghana’s digital space.

The 2022 Ghana Women of the Year Honours ceremony marking the 7th edition celebrated several other women doing very well in their various fields of work.

It brought together top women in the digital sector, political, and others with the aim of promoting and inspiring women in the country.

The awards ceremony recognized digitization across all sectors, including the public sector, banking, telecommunications, ICT, manufacturing, agriculture, health, and all other sectors involved in digitization.

Receiving the award, Mrs. Ekuful noted the challenges in the sector and government's resolve in providing the necessary basic infrastructure and building capacity to engender digital innovations.

"To whom much is given, much is expected. I stood on the shoulders of many women to get to where I am and it’s incumbent on us also to provide shoulders for others to lean on. It hasn't been easy, we have suffered but it's all part of the cost we have to pay and it’s worth it to find young girls whose lives have been transformed under the various initiatives".

She added, "I dedicate this award to my beloved husband for all the vituperations he endures due to my job. Thank you Sam for being a pillar so far. I appreciate you for sharing me with Ghanaians."

She encouraged women to venture into politics and aspire for leadership positions in society adding that, her commitment to continue supporting young women through her ministry’s Girls In ICT programme, which is intended to bridge the gender gap in the field of technology is very high.

Ursula’s Initiatives

Madam Ursula Owusu since assuming office in 2017 has birthed initiatives such as the Girls in ICT Initiative, the E-transform project which is rehabilitating 25 selected post offices to provide e-services, Rural Telephony and Digital Inclusion Project, setting up of ICT laboratory centres across the country and many more.

Her role in the establishment of Ghana’s National Cyber Security Centre in 2018 has also been commended, as it recently led to Ghana’s cybersecurity being rated as number three in Africa by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) on its Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI). This is a major leap from the 11th position attained in the previous rating of 32.6 percent in 2017 and 43.7 percent in 2018.