Regina Honu facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Regina Honu
Born	Regina Fremah Agyare Accra, Ghana
Nationality	Ghanaian
Education	Holy Child High School Ashesi University
Occupation	Social entrepreneur, software developer
Years active	2012–present
Known for	Founding the Soronko Academy
Awards	2017 Buffett Award for Emerging Global Leaders Women of Courage Award for Technology
Honours	BBC 100 Women of 2017

Regina Honu is a Ghanaian social entrepreneur and software developer. She is the founder of Soronko Solutions, a company that creates software in Ghana. She also started Soronko Academy, which was the first school in West Africa to teach coding and human-centered design to children and young adults.

Regina Honu has received many awards for her work. CNN recognized her as one of 12 inspiring women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). She was also named one of six women making a big impact in technology in Africa. She was also listed as one of the top ten female entrepreneurs to watch in growing economies.

Her work has been featured on many platforms like CNN African Voices, BBC, Deutsche Welle, and Aljazeera. Her story was even shared in Sheryl Sandberg's book Lean In.

Early life and education

Regina Honu was born Regina Fremah Agyare. She went to Holy Child High School in Cape Coast for her high school education. She later studied at Ashesi University and was part of the class of 2005.

Career and impact

Soronko Academy

Honu teaching girls to code and create technology

Regina Honu created the Soronko Foundation in 2012. This led to the opening of Soronko Academy in 2017. The academy teaches children and young adults in Ghana, West Africa, about coding, IT skills, and human-centered design.

The main goal of the academy is to help young people, especially girls and women. It gives them the technical and soft skills they need to succeed in society. This also helps to close the gap between genders in the technology world. Soronko Academy is the first school of its kind in West Africa. By 2021, it had trained more than 20,000 women and girls.

Tech Needs Girls

Regina Honu also started the Tech Needs Girls Ghana movement. This program encourages and trains more Ghanaian girls to study technology. It is well-known for teaching girls how to code.

The Soronko Academy works closely with the Tech Needs Girls program. Together, they have trained over 3,500 girls in Ghana and Burkina Faso.

Helping others with technology

As part of World Autism Day in 2018, Regina Honu worked with Autism Ambassadors of Ghana. They held a special session to raise awareness about autism. During this session, they introduced an app called Autism Aid. This app helps families of children with autism get information and advice from experts.

Personal life

Regina Honu got married in November 2015. After her marriage, she became known as Regina Honu.

Awards and recognition

Regina Honu has received many honors and awards for her important work:

• She is an Ashoka fellow, which means she is recognized as a leading social entrepreneur.
• She is an Aspen Institute New Voices Fellow.
• She was a Mandela Washington Fellow, part of the Young African Leaders Initiative.
• She is a member of the World Economic Forum community of Global Shapers.
• She is a Vital Voices VV lead fellow, part of a group of 100 amazing women leaders.
• She is a GOOD Global Fellow.
• She is a change leader with Tigo Reach For Change.

Honu at the launch of Rama

• In 2017, she won the Buffett Award for Emerging Global Leaders from Northwestern University.
• Coca-Cola honored her as one of 60 young achievers for her great work in technology.
• She also received the Big Six award from Coca-Cola Ghana for her amazing contributions to technology.
• In 2016, she won the Startup Entrepreneur of the Year award. Her organization also won the Social Enterprise Startup of the Year at the Ghana StartUp Awards.
• She won the JCI Ghana Outstanding Young Person award for her advancements in science and technology.
• Her organization was nominated for an editor's choice award at the Women in IT awards in the UK.
• She was a finalist for the ITU African Digital Woman of the Year award.
• She received a Women of Courage Award for Technology.
• She is on the advisory board for the UN Committee for the Rights of a Child. She helps update the Convention for the Rights of the Child for the digital age.
• The Tech Needs Girls program was honored at the 2014 Ghana CSR Diary Awards.
• She was named one of the 100 Women of the year 2017 by the BBC.

See also

• Timeline of women in computing
• 100 Women (BBC)