Regina Honu, Opening Digital Doors and Rewriting Possibility

In Accra, Ghana, Regina Honu’s path was never designed for the mainstream tech narrative. She grew up with an instinctive belief that women, especially those from under-represented communities, were entitled to more than spectatorship. That conviction led her to study computer science at Ashesi University and later to found one of Africa’s most impactful tech education movements.

Honu’s vision took concrete shape in Soronko Academy, the first coding and human-centred design school in West Africa. What began as a modest enterprise blossomed into a transformational institution that has equipped over 20,000 women and girls with digital, coding and design skills, a tangible answer to the systemic barriers that have long excluded women from technology fields. The academy is more than a training ground; it is a door-opener, where young women discover that technology is not an insular realm but a language they can command. Through curricula in coding, digital skills, entrepreneurship and design thinking, Honu and her team have helped thousands transition from learners to creators, building apps, starting businesses and entering sectors that once felt unreachable.

Her work extends beyond Ghana’s borders. Through the Soronko Foundation and the Tech Needs Girls movement, she has nurtured coding programmes in other West African nations, blending skill-building with mentorship and community support. Honu’s leadership emphasises confidence and agency, not simply access to technology but the belief that women belong at the forefront of innovation.

Regina’s story is not a singular success but a ripple effect: alumni of Soronko Academy go on to mentor others, start enterprises and expand opportunities for future generations. In a continent often defined by deficits in STEM access, Honu’s work demonstrates that equity is infrastructure, and that building it requires generosity of vision as much as technical skill.