Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson and Pascal Donohoe
The World Bank Group’s Managing Director and Chief Knowledge Officer, Paschal Donohoe, has concluded a three-day official visit to Ghana, reaffirming the Bank’s commitment to supporting the country’s economic recovery, job creation, and long-term development.
The visit, Mr. Donohoe’s first official mission to Africa since his appointment in November 2025, took place from March 15 to 18 and included meetings with President John Mahama, Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, Education Minister, Haruna Iddrisu, senior government officials, private sector leaders, civil society representatives, academia, and development partners.
A major milestone of the visit was the confirmation of a US$300 million World Bank commitment to Ghana’s secondary education sector under the Secondary Education Transformation for Access, Relevance and Results for Jobs (STARR-J) programme, the largest single allocation to the sector in the institution’s history in the country.
Announced during a joint visit to the Armed Forces Senior High Technical School in Burma Camp, Accra, with Minister of Education Haruna Iddrisu, the commitment nearly doubles the US$180 million initially discussed at the IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings in 2025. The programme is expected to commence in the current fiscal year.
STARR-J will support the rehabilitation and expansion of senior high schools and TVET institutions, with a strong focus on practical, job-relevant skills training.
The programme builds on the achievements of the Ghana Accountability for Learning Outcomes Project (GALOP), which has trained over 70,000 teachers and directly benefited more than 3.1 million students, surpassing its target of 2.3 million.
At the University of Ghana, Mr. Donohoe delivered the institution’s first Vice-Chancellor’s Occasional Lecture of 2026, calling for stronger collaboration between educational institutions and industry to address persistent skills mismatches.
He described the skills mismatch as a structural coordination failure and urged employers to take a more active role in shaping curricula and training systems.
Mr. Donohoe also participated in a high-level IFC Business Council meeting with private sector leaders.
The World Bank Group emphasized that private sector-led development is central to the country’s long-term growth strategy and remains a primary engine of employment creation across the continent.
Mr. Donohoe reaffirmed the institution’s long-standing commitment to Ghana and its readiness to support reforms that deliver jobs, strengthen institutions, and promote inclusive growth. “The priority now is to work together to implement reforms at scale and ensure that growth translates into real opportunities for all Ghanaians,” he said.
A Business Desk Report