by Eclipse Foundation Staff
“We’re not just developers. We’re 360-degree engineers.”
For more than a decade, Joyce Dzifa Lokko has been navigating Ghana’s evolving technology landscape as an engineer, community leader, mentor, and advocate for greater representation in technology. Her beginnings in technology were anything but easy. From struggling to understand her first programming lessons to becoming a passionate mentor who has helped hundreds of women find pathways into STEM careers, her story is one of resilience, perseverance, and a commitment to ensuring that opportunities are shared with others.
Today, Dzifa serves as a Service Delivery and Quality Assurance Engineer and as Communications Lead for both PyLadies Ghana and PyCon Ghana. Alongside her professional career, she has become a recognised voice in Ghana’s open source community, helping to create spaces where aspiring technologists can learn, contribute, and thrive.
Finding direction through technology
As with many other global voices featured on this page, technology was not Dzifa’s first career plan. Growing up in Ghana, she initially envisioned a future in medicine and hoped to become a neurosurgeon. After completing Senior High School, however, she found herself reflecting on her future while waiting for her examination results. During that period of uncertainty, she enrolled in a three-month software development foundation course at the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT (GI-KACE, formerly known as AITI-KACE), a government-affiliated technology and digital skills institution.
Her first encounter with programming was through C++, and it was far from easy. For nearly a month, she struggled to understand the concepts being taught. Rather than discouraging her, the challenge sparked her determination.
“It was one of the first times in my academic life where I didn’t understand anything that was being taught,” she recalls. “I’m someone who loves challenges, so I decided that I was going to do this.”
After speaking with lecturers and mentors, she chose to pursue Computer Science at university, a decision that would shape the next chapter of her life.
Growing up alongside Ghana’s tech transformation
Dzifa’s journey into technology coincided with a pivotal moment in Ghana’s digital development.
When she began studying Computer Science in 2015, the country’s technology ecosystem was still emerging. There were relatively few software companies, limited access to mentors, and fewer organised technology communities than exist today. Students often had to navigate their careers through trial and error, relying heavily on their own initiative.
Over the years, Dzifa has watched Ghana transform into one of Africa’s most dynamic technology hubs.
Programming is now taught in schools, government initiatives are investing in digital skills development, and communities such as PyLadies Ghana, Django Girls, Girls in Tech, and many others have expanded opportunities for young people entering the field. International technology companies have established operations in the country (just last year, Google opened a new office in Accra), while Ghanaian professionals increasingly occupy leadership roles in global organisations.
“The talent has always been here,” Dzifa says. “What has changed is the opportunity.”
For her, growing alongside Ghana’s technology ecosystem has reinforced the importance of adaptability and continuous learning. It has also strengthened her belief that local talent can compete and lead on a global stage.
Resilience in a room of fifty-two men
University brought both opportunity and challenge. In Dzifa’s Computer Science class, there were only two women among approximately fifty-four students. For the first time in her life, she found herself part of a significantly underrepresented group.
The academic demands were intense. Courses in abstract mathematics, calculus, and computer science fundamentals tested her resilience and confidence. At times, the lack of visible role models and clear career pathways made it difficult to see where the journey could lead.
“I didn’t fully understand the different opportunities that Computer Science could bring,” she explains. “I thought it only meant becoming a software engineer.”
Over time, she discovered a much broader world of possibilities. Her career would eventually span software engineering, digital marketing, quality assurance, service delivery, communications, and community leadership.
Looking back, Dzifa credits those challenges with helping her develop the resilience that continues to define her career today.
Discovering the power of open source communities
Nine years ago, a conversation with a fellow student changed the direction of Dzifa’s professional life.
Together with colleague Francis Billa, she decided to establish a student technology community called Python Cape Coast. Their motivation was simple: they wanted to create opportunities for students, especially women, to learn more about technology.
One of their first initiatives was organising a Django Girls workshop for around twenty women. Dzifa invited classmates, roommates, and fellow students who were curious about technology but had never had the opportunity to explore it.
What happened next left a lasting impression.
Experienced mentors travelled from Accra to Cape Coast, volunteering their time to teach participants how to build their first websites and introducing them to the world of software development.
“It was the first time I truly experienced the culture of collaboration, knowledge sharing, and community contribution,” she says.
That experience introduced Dzifa to the values at the heart of open source: sharing knowledge, supporting others, and building communities that outlast individual contributions.
From there, her involvement expanded rapidly. She organised meetups, workshops, and training programs, eventually becoming deeply involved in PyLadies Ghana and PyCon Ghana, where she continues to advocate for diversity, mentorship, and accessibility within technology.
From volunteer to leader: The opportunities open source creates
For Dzifa, open source has created opportunities that extend far beyond technical skills. Through community leadership, she has developed public speaking experience, built international networks, mentored newcomers, and helped create programs that have changed lives.
“In the world of tech, versatility pushes you up the ladder,” she comments.
One initiative that remains particularly meaningful involved training women with no previous technical experience in cybersecurity. Following an introductory program, ten participants were selected for six months of intensive training.
Years later, Dzifa saw one of those participants share her success story online after securing a cybersecurity analyst position.
Moments like these serve as powerful reminders of the impact that community-led initiatives can have.
Open source has also demonstrated the professional opportunities that emerge through contribution and visibility.
“People often don’t realise that you can start by volunteering, but then you can literally get a full time job in open source that can help put food on the table,” she says. “I’ve seen people recommended for jobs because of the impact they’ve made through their contributions.”
For Dzifa, however, perhaps the greatest opportunity has been the chance to help shape conversations around representation and inclusion, ensuring that people from underrepresented backgrounds have a voice in the spaces where decisions are made.
A mature tech ecosystem: Why Ghanaian developers belong on the global stage
When asked why organisations should invest in developers from Ghana, Dzifa does not hesitate: “Developers in Ghana are adaptable, innovative, resilient, creative, and globally competitive.”
She believes that the narrative surrounding African developers must evolve. Rather than being viewed as emerging talent, African technologists should be recognised for the contributions they are already making to the global technology ecosystem.
Dzifa points to the growing number of Ghanaian professionals holding leadership positions around the world – for example, Abigail Afi Gbadago, Vice President of the Django Software Foundation – as well as companies such as Turntabl, which have successfully partnered with organisations across Europe and North America by leveraging engineering talent based in Ghana.
What distinguishes many developers in the region, she argues, is their breadth of capability.
“We’re not just developers. We’re 360-degree engineers.”
Beyond technical expertise, she highlights strengths in communication, leadership, problem-solving, collaboration, and empathy – skills that are increasingly essential in modern technology organisations.
As Ghana’s technology ecosystem continues to mature, Dzifa sees enormous potential for organisations seeking talented professionals capable of working successfully across cultures and continents.
Creating pathways for the next generation
Throughout her career, Dzifa has remained focused on one central question: how can more people access the opportunities that transformed her own life?
Her answer begins with mentorship.
While encouraging women to enter technology is important, she believes the greater challenge is helping them remain in the field. Access to mentors, internships, conferences, professional networks, and meaningful career opportunities all play a crucial role in supporting long-term success.
She also encourages aspiring contributors to remember that open source welcomes more than technical expertise. Community organising, communications, documentation, event management, and mentorship are all valuable forms of contribution.
Most importantly, Dzifa wants more people from Ghana and across Africa to see themselves represented in leadership positions.
“It’s one thing to be the only person in the room and being recognised for it,” she reflects. “But it’s a greater fulfillment when there are others who look like you and come from where you come from.”
As Ghana’s technology ecosystem continues to grow, Dzifa is helping ensure that the next generation of developers, contributors, and leaders will find more opportunities, stronger communities, and clearer pathways than ever before.
And for her, that may be the most important contribution of all.
Joyce Dzifa Lokko is an Agile Delivery and Quality Assurance Lead with 6+ years of experience spanning software engineering, service delivery management, and project coordination. She strengthens Agile delivery governance and engineering quality, closing the gap between code completion and release readiness, and coaching teams toward stronger ownership and delivery discipline, translating complex delivery data into clear, actionable insight for leadership across global, distributed teams.
Beyond her professional career, Joyce has spent 9+ years building impact across the open source community. She serves as Communications Lead for PyLadies Ghana, leads communications for PyCon Ghana conferences, and contributes to the global communications team for PyLadiesCon. She also volunteers as a mentor with Django Girls similar and organisations, consistently championing pathways into tech for women and underrepresented groups across Ghana and beyond.
