Regina Honu (née Agyare), is a

Ghanaian The Ghanaian people are a nation originating in the Gold Coast (region), Ghanaian Gold Coast. Ghanaians predominantly inhabit the Republic of Ghana and are the predominant cultural group and residents of Ghana, numbering 34 million people as of ...

social entrepreneur Social entrepreneurship is an approach by individuals, groups, Startup company, start-up companies or entrepreneurs, in which they develop, fund and implement solutions to social, cultural, or environmental issues. This concept may be applied to ...

, software developer and founder of Soronko Solutions, a software development company in Ghana. She opened Soronko Academy, the first coding and human-centered design school for children and young adults in West Africa. Honu has received multiple awards, including being named by

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as one of the 12 inspirational women who rock

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. She was also named as one of the six women making an impact in Tech in Africa and one of the ten female entrepreneurs to watch in emerging economies. She has received attention with features on platforms such as CNN African Voices,

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as well as the Impatient Optimist blog by The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In an interview with CNN's African Start-Up, she is described as a Ghanaian tech guru who wants to develop the next generation of women in technology. Honu's story was also published in

Sheryl Sandberg Sheryl Kara Sandberg (born August 28, 1969) is an American technology executive, philanthropist, and writer. Sandberg served as chief operating officer (COO) of Meta Platforms, a position from which she stepped down in August 2022. She is also ...

's book ''

Lean In ''Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead'' is a 2013 book encouraging women to assert themselves at work and at home, co-written by business executive Sheryl Sandberg and media writer Nell Scovell. Synopsis, by chapter The synopsis of the e ...

''. She was named as the 2016 Vlisco Brand Ambassador.

Early life and education

Born Regina Fremah Agyare, she attended Holy Child High School,

Cape Coast Cape Coast is a city and the capital of the Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly, Cape Coast Metropolitan District and the Central Region (Ghana), Central Region of Ghana, Ghana. It is located about from Sekondi-Takoradi and approximately from Ac ...

, for her secondary education. She is an alumna of

Ashesi University Ashesi University ( ) is a private, non-profit and non-sectarian university located in Berekuso, near Accra. Ashesi was established as an independent, public benefit education institution operating on a not-for-profit basis. The university o ...

and a member of the 2005 class.

Career

Soronko Academy

Regina Honu set up the Soronko Foundation in 2012, which brought about the Soronko Academy in 2017, to train children and young adults in coding, IT skills, human-centered design in Ghana, West Africa. The academy was started to help young people especially women and equip them in technical and soft skills necessary to help them in the society and bridge the gender gap in technology. It is the first coding and Human-centered design school for children and young adults in West Africa. By 2021, the programme is estimated to have trained more than 20,000 women and girls.

Tech Needs Girls

Honu started the Tech Needs Girls Ghana movement, which aims to train and educate more Ghanaian girls into studying technology-related courses. The movement is noted for teaching girls how to code. She runs the Soronko Academy, the first coding and human-centered design school in West Africa, in association with the Tech Needs Girls programme, which has trained more than 3,500 girls in Ghana and Burkina Faso.

Partnership

As part of World Autism Day 2018, Honu partnered with Autism Ambassadors of Ghana for an autism awareness session. The session helped to create awareness about autism and introduced an Autism Aid App that enable families of children living with autism to access information from experts on how to take care of these kids.

Personal life

She married in November 2015 and is now known as Regina Honu.

Awards and achievements

Ashoka Ashoka, also known as Asoka or Aśoka ( ; , ; – 232 BCE), and popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was List of Mauryan emperors, Emperor of Magadha from until #Death, his death in 232 BCE, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynast ...

fellow * She is an

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New Voices Fellow * A Mandela Washington Fellow (Young African Leaders Initiative) * A member of the

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community of

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Vital Voices Vital Voices Global Partnership is an American international, 501(c)(3), non-profit, non-governmental organization that works with women leaders in the areas of economic empowerment, women's political participation, and human rights. The organiza ...

VV lead fellow and part of the 100 exceptional women from the Vital Voices Global Leadership Network * A GOOD Global Fellow * She is a change leader with

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Reach For Change Regina Honu at Rama Launch

* She recently won the 2017 Buffett Award for Emerging Global Leaders from

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

. *She was honoured as one of

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60 Young achievers with an outstanding performance in Technology * She was then awarded the Big Six award from

Ghana for her incredible contribution in Technology. * She won the 2016 Startup Entrepreneur of the year and her organization won the Social Enterprise Startup of the Year in the 2016 Ghana StartUp Awards. * She also won the JCI Ghana Outstanding Young Person award for scientific and technological advancement. * Her organization was nominated for the editor's choice award in the Women in IT award in the UK * She was a finalist for the ITU African Digital Woman of the Year. * She was awarded a Women of Courage Award for Technology * She is on the project advisory board of the UN Committee for the Rights of a Child, helping to update the Convention for the Rights of the Child for a Digital Age * Tech Needs Girls was honoured in the 2014 Ghana CSR Diary Awards. * 100 Women of the year 2017 by the BBC

References

External links

Soronko Academy

KSM Show- Regina Honu CEO of Soronko Academy and her team hanging out with KSM

Girls and Women Talking Tech Interview 35 - Regina Honu and Lily Edinam Botsyoe

How Regina Honu is teaching thousands of girls how to create technology and code
{{DEFAULTSORT:Honu, Regina Living people People from Accra 1980s births Alumni of Holy Child High School, Ghana Ashesi University alumni Ghanaian activists Ghanaian women activists Ghanaian computer scientists Ghanaian women computer scientists Social entrepreneurs Year of birth missing (living people)