Telecel Ghana trains deaf entrepreneurs in digital finance

Telecel Ghana has extended its financial literacy and mobile commerce training to Deaf entrepreneurs, as the telecom operator strengthens efforts to ensure digital inclusion and economic participation for under-served communities across Ghana.

The workshop, held at the head office of the Ghana National Association of the Deaf (GNAD) in Accra, delivered entrepreneurship and personal finance training to 97 Deaf and hard-of-hearing traders and artisans, combining business education with merchant onboarding through its mobile financial platform, Telecel Cash.

Participants were taken through sustainable business management principles and financial tech education, after which they were registered for merchant services intended to help them accept digital payments and manage transactions more efficiently.

David Mborkor, the Greater Accra Regional President of GNAD, urged participants to seize the training opportunity to transform their businesses and economic prospects. He also commended Telecel for its commitment to enhancing the livelihoods of its members.

“Telecel is determined in ensuring that Deaf-owned businesses are not left behind in the digital transition,” said Mercy Dawn Akude, General Manager of Commercial Operations at Telecel Ghana. “We believe our tailored accessibility support for Deaf entrepreneurs will translate into their stronger participation in Ghana’s digital economy.”

The programme forms part of Telecel’s commitment to inclusion in its service delivery. Since the launch of Telecel SuperCare in 2016, Telecel has provided specialised support for the Deaf community through affordable data packages, accessible communication channels and products designed around accessibility needs.

Under the initiative, Deaf and hard-of-hearing customers can dial *494# to connect with customer service agents, mostly Deaf and sign language professionals, through video and WhatsApp calls.

One of the participants of the training, Owusuaa, a trader in baby diapers and groceries, expressed her sincere appreciation to Telecel Ghana and the facilitators for guiding them through the five key principles for business growth. She also commended Telecel for providing free merchant SIMs and setting up their business accounts, noting that accessing them on their own would have been a significant challenge, given the many constraints Deaf entrepreneurs already face.

The latest workshop builds on a series of inclusion-focused interventions by Telecel Ghana over the past years, including advocacy for wider sign language access in public institutions and digital skills training for Deaf students.

During the 2025 International Week of the Deaf in Saltpond, Central Region, Telecel called for sign language studies to be mainstreamed in schools and public service delivery, arguing that sign language exclusion continues to limit access to healthcare, education and employment for Deaf people across Ghana.

Telecel Ghana also participated in a media advocacy forum last year that called for a national policy to institutionalise sign language interpretation in public information delivery and wider subtitling of television broadcasts.

Through the Telecel Foundation, Deaf students are trained in STEM every year on International Day of Persons with Disabilities to enable them to explore basic artificial intelligence concepts. Telecel Ghana said such initiatives reflect a broader, intentional strategy to integrate accessibility into its business and digital transformation agenda.

According to Ghana’s 2021 Population and Housing Census, more than 211,000 people in the country are Deaf or hard of hearing, while over 470,000 live with varying degrees of hearing loss.