Ghana: MIIF aims to award mining scholarships to 1,000 women in engineering and STEM

The Minerals Income and Investment Fund (MIIF) has introduced a new scholarship program designed to support 1,000 women from mining communities across the country.

This scholarship, hosted by the George Grant University of Mines and Technology (UMAT) in Tarkwa, is specifically targeted at women from mining areas pursuing degrees in mining engineering and related STEM fields.

Named the MIIF-WomCom Scholarship, the program will span 10 years, awarding 100 scholarships annually. The initiative aims to boost female representation in mining management, which currently stands at less than 8%. This effort aligns with the Fund’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) policy.

Edward Nana Yaw Koranteng, Chief Executive Officer of MIIF, has stated that the organization decided to launch this important initiative to enhance human capital development within the mining sector, viewing it as the most crucial investment across the entire mining value chain.

He emphasized that for Ghana to truly capitalize on its mineral resources, effective policies alone will not suffice. There must be a focused effort to develop the human resources necessary to support and advance the sector.

“We believe that just investing in equity, investing in the value chain etc. without investing in human development will really just take us nowhere; you know, we will hit a wall at a point in time,” Mr. Koranteng stated.

While human resource development is the key goal driving the establishment of the scholarship scheme, the specific concentration on women from needy families in the mining communities is of prime focus to MIIF. Apart from the fact that this initiative bridges the gap in this male dominated industry, it provides an opportunity to create female role models from these communities and erodes perceptual biases borne out of certain traditions and prejudices against women.