Ghana: 1,000 Youth Learn AI and Coding for Free

In Kumasi, Ghana, 1,000 young people are getting the chance to learn skills that could transform their lives and their country's economy.

Telecel Ghana launched Ashanti Codes, a free 12-week program teaching students from Kumasi and Obuasi how to code, build AI technology, and create digital solutions. The company made sure 70 percent of the spots went to girls, addressing a gender gap that has long kept women out of tech careers.

At the launch event, students showed off what they had already learned. They demonstrated driverless vehicles, smart toll gates, and cars that can automatically avoid obstacles. These aren't just classroom projects. They're the kind of innovations that could solve real problems in their communities.

"At Telecel we believe that if we are able to equip our own young ones and grow with it and also have it as part of their skills, it will be a part of them," said Komla Buami, External Affairs Director at Telecel Ghana. The company is thinking beyond just students too, training teachers to become digital skills instructors in their own schools.

The timing couldn't be better. Ghana's government is rolling out similar training for older youth across all 47 constituencies in the Ashanti Region, reaching about 2,300 people. Ashanti Regional Minister Dr. Frank Amoakohene praised Telecel for adding 1,000 more young people to that number.

The Ripple Effect

This program could change more than individual careers. Dr. Micheal Essuman, Board Chair of the Ghana Library Authority, called digital literacy among children "critical to the country's economic future." When young people learn to build technology instead of just using it, they can create solutions tailored to their own communities' needs.

The program provides students with standard kits that align with Ghana's official curriculum, making it easier for them to continue learning after the 12 weeks end. Teachers will keep the momentum going long after Telecel's direct involvement wraps up.

Dr. Amoakohene told students they wouldn't just witness the rise of advanced AI and robotics. They would help create it, solving everyday challenges in Ghana with technology built by Ghanaians.

For the young women who make up most of the program, Ashanti Codes offers something even more valuable than technical skills: proof that they belong in spaces where people who look like them have been told they don't.