Some students receiving training
The Ministry of Communication and Digitalisation with financial support from the World Bank eTransform Project has provided digital skills training for over 39,141 people and created jobs for more than 15,000 people.
In a bid to solidify its position as Africa’s leading centre for digital innovation, Ghana through the Ministry of Communication and Digitalisation successfully launched three strategic tech hubs which include the Ghana Tech Lab, the Ghana Innovation Hub, and the Kumasi Business Incubator at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
According to the ministry, the hubs established as part of the World Bank funded eTransform Project, is aimed at fostering highly skilled digital human capital, seed innovations, nurturing start-ups as well as providing a fertile platform for developing and accelerating innovative ideas to achieve product-market fit to address societal needs.
The ministry said the tech hubs have collectively hosted various events and programmes, drawing a significant participation of 39,141 individuals, comprising 18,914 males and 20,227 females.
“These youth have been equipped with a wide array of digital skills, including Robotics, Business Development, Graphic Design, Social Media Management, Accounting, Artificial Intelligence, Mobile App Development, Creative Writing, Videography, Virtual Reality, Gaming, Animation, Photography, Sound Engineering, Programming, 3D Printing, and Web Development,” the ministry stated, adding that, so far, the Ghana Tech Lab and the Ghana Innovation Hub have successfully created 5,799 direct jobs, with a balanced representation of 2,756 males and 3,043 females consisting of 52.6% and over 10,000 indirect jobs.
The ministry indicated that the initiative is part of Ghana’s broader effort to harness technology for socio-economic advancement to ensure that the nation remains at the forefront of digital innovation and economic growth in Africa.
About eTransform Ghana Project
The eTransform Project, which is the foundation of the Digital Ghana Agenda, is focused on several key areas such as enabling environment for digital Ghana; e-government and business focusing on policy, regulatory, and institutional capacity building to promote electronic services, support innovation centres as well as enhancing government data management.
Other areas include support for digitisation and connectivity, launch and scale-up of priority digital services and applications in priority sectors where ICT would be utilised to improve health and education services and complete key e-applications.
“Project Management Support also provides coordination, communication, procurement, financial management, and monitoring to ensure effective project implementation,” the ministry added.
By Ebenezer K. Amponsah