(Ecofin Agency) - The government of Ghana partnered with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and Norway to launch its Digital Transformation Centers (DTC) Initiative on November 12.

This new step will help strengthen digital skills training across the country. It is done in close collaboration with Cisco and the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC). According to Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Minister of Communications, a total of 241 ICT community centers will serve for the training program.

Over 14,000 people (mainly women, students, teachers, and underserved groups) are expected to benefit from the scheme over the next three years. ITU says “it targets people who need basic digital skills to use digital tools and access e-services and those who seek to enhance their basic and intermediate skills.”

“It also targets entrepreneurs who wish to develop their businesses and it assists policy-makers in the formulation and implementation of policies and programs related to digital skills, with the overall objective of enabling a successful national digital transformation process,” the Union said.

The new partnership with ITU and Norway is an opportunity for Ghana to “accelerate building an inclusive digital society, to ensure that lack of knowledge and skills is not a barrier to participation in the digital economy, and to contribute to the achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.”