As a child she was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, but that didn't stop Farida Bedwei from finding success as a software engineer and excelling in Ghana's financial technology sector.
As a child she was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, but that didn't stop Farida Bedwei from finding success as a software engineer and excelling in Ghana's financial technology sector.
Farida Bedwei
She says: "I have to prove to the world and prove to myself that despite my challenges I can still be successful... I started using the typewriter to type letters, then I gradually graduated onto the computer and that's how my whole career started."
She says: "I have to prove to the world and prove to myself that despite my challenges I can still be successful... I started using the typewriter to type letters, then I gradually graduated onto the computer and that's how my whole career started."
Along with colleague Derrick Dankyi, Bedwei built a cloud software platform which allows micro-finance companies to send coded text messages to clients. Customers can then exchange the codes for cash at participating bank branches.
Along with colleague Derrick Dankyi, Bedwei built a cloud software platform which allows micro-finance companies to send coded text messages to clients. Customers can then exchange the codes for cash at participating bank branches.
"I'm somebody who loves technology and using technology to change lives," says the passionate programmer.
"I'm somebody who loves technology and using technology to change lives," says the passionate programmer.
Bedwei has also written a book "Definition of a Miracle," the tale of an 8-year-old girl's struggle with cerebral palsy in a community where the disability is severely misunderstood. "I was tired of people having the wrong perception of people with disabilities. I was tired of people seeing me in the street and wanting to invite me to a spiritual healing service. I was tired of people seeing me and feeling sorry for me, simply because I could not walk properly."
Bedwei has also written a book "Definition of a Miracle," the tale of an 8-year-old girl's struggle with cerebral palsy in a community where the disability is severely misunderstood. "I was tired of people having the wrong perception of people with disabilities. I was tired of people seeing me in the street and wanting to invite me to a spiritual healing service. I was tired of people seeing me and feeling sorry for me, simply because I could not walk properly."
She adds: "So I decided to write a book, so that people who read the book would get an understanding of what it feels to be a disabled person... It's about the family. I wanted to show the road that there are families in Ghana, in Africa for that matter who go through the same things, the same emotions, the same challenges that people in the West go through."
She adds: "So I decided to write a book, so that people who read the book would get an understanding of what it feels to be a disabled person... It's about the family. I wanted to show the road that there are families in Ghana, in Africa for that matter who go through the same things, the same emotions, the same challenges that people in the West go through."