• Ghana expanded its digital training program nationwide after receiving 94,000 applications in 48 hours.

• Authorities will deploy the program across 130 centers covering all 16 regions.

• Youth unemployment remains high at 21.7%, underscoring urgency for digital skills development.

Ghana accelerated the national rollout of the One Million Coders Programme (OMCP) after strong demand during its pilot phase. Authorities officially launched the program in April 2025 and initially targeted 500 learners across four centers in Accra, Kumasi, Sunyani, and Tamale. However, authorities increased the intake to about 1,000 participants after demand exceeded expectations.

The government designed the initiative to equip young people with digital skills and improve their access to employment opportunities in the global digital economy.

The Ministry of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovation marked the national rollout on April 10 by distributing laptops to partner institutions.

The ministry provided equipment to key partners, including the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC), Ghana Digital Centres Limited, and the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT.

During phase one, authorities will deploy the program across 130 training centers in all 16 regions. Each center will receive 50 laptops configured for coding training.

Twelve universities, including the University of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, and the University of Cape Coast, will participate in the first phase.

In parallel, the government recruited 130 constituency-level coordinators to manage centers and provide technical support. Authorities plan to extend the program to all constituencies nationwide.

Applicants must register through a dedicated platform that authorities opened during the pilot phase. The ministry reported that it received more than 94,000 applications within 48 hours for 500 initial slots. Consequently, authorities doubled the pilot capacity to 1,000 participants.

The ministry stated that it will reopen the application portal soon. Returning applicants will complete their registration, while new applicants will undergo a simplified verification process linked to the Ghana Card system.

The ministry expects the program to support Ghana’s digital transformation agenda by building a skilled workforce. Authorities aim to position graduates for opportunities in artificial intelligence, software development, and remote digital jobs.

“For us, this does not stop at training people. We must also determine where graduates find jobs. We are dealing with an entire value chain,” said Sam George Nartey, Minister of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovation. “We must collect all necessary data to track our citizens’ progress and report properly to the Ghanaian people and to our corporate partners on their investments,” he added.

Authorities launched the initiative amid rising concerns over youth employment. The World Bank estimates that 230 million jobs will require digital skills by 2030, highlighting the urgency of workforce transformation.

The African Development Bank stated in its 2025 country report that job creation has not kept pace with population growth. The unemployment rate reached 21.7% in 2023, with particularly high levels among people aged 15 to 24.

A growing number of graduates remain unemployed due to skills mismatches, while many new labor market entrants operate in the informal sector.

An Afrobarometer survey published in June 2025 showed that 34% of Ghanaians aged 15 to 35 are unemployed and actively seeking work. Additionally, 16% of respondents in this age group reported that they are not employed and not seeking work.

This article was initially published in French by Isaac K. Kassouwi

Adapted in English by Ange J.A de Berry Quenum