Ghana CEO Tackles Why Bright Girls Disappear From STEM

The brightest students in Ghana's junior high schools are often girls, but by university, they've vanished from science and engineering programs.

Christabel Ofori, CEO of Afcallo Ventures and a chemical engineer, knows this pipeline problem intimately. Speaking on Joy FM's Personality Profile in January 2026, she revealed how close she came to abandoning engineering herself before a family friend intervened with encouragement.

"Even before I chose chemical engineering seriously, if it wasn't for my mom's friend who encouraged me, engineering would not be a course I would have pursued," Ofori admitted. "It just felt like they say it's difficult. You've not even experienced it to know."

The statistics paint a stark picture. Women make up just 24% of STEM professionals in Ghana, according to a 2024 Ghana Statistical Service report. In engineering and computer science, that number drops below 15% in some regions.

Ofori points to something she calls the "helmet stereotype." Growing up, she rarely saw women wearing hard hats or working in technical roles. The message was silent but clear: this world wasn't meant for girls.

Why This Inspires

Ofori isn't just diagnosing the problem. She's making it her personal mission to change the narrative.

"I think people like me need to do better and encourage women that it's not as difficult," she said. "I'll make it one of my callings."

Her pledge matters because representation creates permission. When girls see successful women engineers, the invisible barriers start to crumble. The myths about difficulty lose their power when real women share their journeys.

Ofori believes the women who've made it through have a responsibility to reach back. She's using her platform to show young Ghanaian girls that the engineering track isn't impossibly hard, it's just unfairly portrayed.

Ghana is investing in STEM schools and digital training programs, but Ofori's testimony highlights what infrastructure alone can't fix. The country needs to dismantle the cultural "helmets" that keep girls from seeing themselves as tomorrow's engineers.

One CEO is proving that changing minds starts with sharing the truth about what's actually possible.