Analysis Africa

Ghana’s One Million Coders Programme Explained

By Contributing Reporter · October 13, 2026 · 8 min read

Kwame Nkrumah statue and fountain in a park beside the arched main gate of a university campus in Kumasi, Ghana — The main entrance of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, with a statue of Ghana’s first president. The minister toured the university’s AI labs and training centres. File photo, 2011. (Photo: ZSM, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

GHANA · TECHNOLOGY

Key Facts

—The country Ghana is an English-speaking democracy of West Africa, governed since January 2025 by President John Dramani Mahama and his National Democratic Congress.
—What happened On Tuesday, 13 October, MyJoyOnline and Citi Newsroom reported Communication Minister Samuel Nartey George’s new target of 100,000 digital jobs within two years.
—The programme A state scheme, launched in April 2025, teaching mostly young Ghanaians digital skills; the goal is one million trainees in four years.
—Who runs it The Ministry of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, with state agencies, 12 universities and companies including MTN, Telecel, Huawei and Google as partners.
—The numbers About 142,000 sign-ups by August 2026 and a pool of 10,000 data annotators, the minister said; laptops for 130 centres in all 16 regions.
—What it means for you Ghana is building a pool of English-speaking digital workers and openly courting foreign firms that outsource tech work.
—Still open Which employers will supply the 100,000 jobs, how a job will be counted, and what the job drive will cost.

Ghana’s One Million Coders Programme, a state scheme that teaches young people digital skills, is switching its focus from classrooms to paid work. Communication Minister Samuel Nartey George now wants it to produce 100,000 digitally enabled jobs within two years.

MyJoyOnline and Citi Newsroom, two of Accra’s main news sites, reported the target on Tuesday, 13 October, after his monitoring tour of the Ashanti Region. For US companies that hire remote tech workers, Ghana is pitching itself as a new English-speaking supplier.

What the One Million Coders Programme Is

The One Million Coders Programme is a government scheme that teaches Ghanaians, mostly young people, coding and other digital skills at training centres and online. It grew out of a campaign promise by President Mahama’s National Democratic Congress to train one million people in four years.

President Mahama launched the programme in Accra on Wednesday, 16 April 2025, Citi Newsroom and Rainbow Radio reported. A pilot followed at four centres, in Accra, Kumasi, Sunyani and the north, aimed at 500 trainees.

Demand for the One Million Coders Programme swamped the pilot. More than 90,000 people applied in 48 hours, so the ministry doubled it to about 1,000 places, Graphic Online and the government’s information service reported.

Who Runs It and Who Pays

The Ministry of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations runs the scheme. Its minister is Samuel Nartey George, who is also a member of parliament.

Three state bodies are partners, according to the government’s Information Services Department. One is the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications, a state fund for telecom access.

The others are the state-owned Ghana Digital Centres Limited and the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT, a public computer-training institute in Accra.

Private firms help pay. MTN Ghana, the local arm of the South African telecoms group MTN, committed about US$2 million, which the government said bought extra laptops for universities.

In January 2026 George named Google, MTN, the Chinese firm Huawei and the mobile operator Telecel as partners, Citi Newsroom and Adom Online reported. He said tight public finances had led the ministry to ask Big Tech for support.

In December 2025 he said the start was delayed to secure certificates from Google, Microsoft and Cisco, Citi Newsroom and The High Street Journal reported. Foreign employers often reject local certificates, he said.

From Classrooms to Jobs, the New 100,000 Target

The national rollout of the One Million Coders Programme started in April 2026. Officials handed over laptops on Friday, 10 April, for 130 centres across all 16 regions, and classes began in May.

Each centre was to get 50 laptops set up for coding, and 12 universities joined, Graphic Online and Ecofin Agency reported. By August, about 142,000 people had signed up, the minister said, according to MyJoyOnline and Citi Newsroom.

On his Ashanti tour, the minister visited artificial intelligence laboratories and training centres at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi. He then stopped at centres in Kwadaso, Asawase and Nkwantakese, MyJoyOnline and Citi Newsroom reported.

At the university he said campus courses would now target third- and final-year students instead of first-years, so graduates leave job-ready. He also promised 2,000 more laptops, MyJoyOnline and 3News reported on Monday, 12 October.

“We are pivoting now away from the training into the job creation,” George said, according to MyJoyOnline and Citi Newsroom. He said President Mahama had told the ministry that trainees must find work after the course.

He also said the one-million training goal remains on course. “We will cross a million in the four years,” he said, as both outlets quoted him.

A large concrete university building with balconies and trimmed trees beside a campus road, in sepia tones — Part of the Great Hall complex at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, one of 12 universities in the scheme. File photo, January 2026. (Photo: Pnlarbi, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

What Kind of Digital Jobs Ghana Means

The minister named one ready group of workers. The programme has already built a pool of 10,000 data annotators for businesses needing people for specific digital tasks, he said.

Data annotation means labelling text, images or audio so that artificial intelligence systems can learn from them. The work can be done remotely, so it is easy to buy across borders.

George said Ghana wants a large pool of skilled digital workers to meet demand from international companies seeking to outsource work to the country. Back in 2025, the ministry said international-standard certificates should help Ghana win business process outsourcing contracts.

What It Means for US Readers

For US companies that outsource coding, data labelling or support work, the One Million Coders Programme offers a growing, English-speaking, state-trained workforce. Ghana runs on Greenwich Mean Time, only four or five hours ahead of New York.

American firms are already involved. Google is a named partner, and the certificates sought from Google, Microsoft and Cisco are meant to qualify trainees for remote work abroad.

For investors, the scheme is part of the government’s bid to create jobs for a young population. Foreign Powers and Investors in Ghana 2026 explains who already does business there, and Ghana Politics Explained sets out who holds power.

Through the One Million Coders Programme, Ghana would compete with established African outsourcing hubs. South Africa already ranks as Africa’s best-prepared market for AI outsourcing, according to a 2026 industry index.

What Is Not Known

The ministry has not named the employers expected to provide the 100,000 jobs under the One Million Coders Programme. It has also not said how a digitally enabled job will be counted.

Nor did the minister give a cost for the job drive or the pay the new jobs would offer. Whether the 10,000 data annotators already have paid work is also unclear.

More on this story: Who Is Ghana's Digital Minister Sam George.

More: Ghana news in English, every day from The Rio Times.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the One Million Coders Programme?

It is a Ghanaian government scheme that teaches coding and digital skills, mostly to young people, at training centres and online. Its goal is to train one million Ghanaians in four years.

Who runs the One Million Coders Programme?

The Ministry of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, led by Minister Samuel Nartey George. State agencies, 12 universities and companies such as MTN, Telecel, Huawei and Google are partners.

What changed in October 2026?

The minister said the programme is moving from training to job creation, in remarks reported on 13 October. He set a target of 100,000 digitally enabled jobs within two years.

Can US companies hire through the programme?

The minister said Ghana wants to meet demand from international companies that outsource digital work. The ministry has not yet named any employers or published a hiring process.

How do Ghanaians apply?

Applicants register on the official portal, onemillioncoders.gov.gh, and verify their identity with the Ghana Card, the national ID. Applicants who were not picked earlier can log in with their existing details.

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