Ghana Launches $71M Jobs Program for Women and Youth

In Accra's La Palm Royal Beach Hotel this June, Ghana launched a promise to 28,000 women and young people: your path to meaningful work starts now.

The Ghana Women and Youth Employment and Social Cohesion Programme brings $71 million in support from the African Development Bank to expand opportunities where they're needed most. Running through 2029, it targets vulnerable communities where talent goes untapped because skills training, financing, and connections remain out of reach.

The program tackles three barriers at once. First, it offers market-driven training in AI, digital skills, and STEM fields at ten renovated technical centers across the country. Second, it opens access to financing and support for small businesses owned by women and youth. Third, it builds the systems needed to sustain these gains long after the program ends.

Abass-Adams Nurudeen, who coordinates the program, says the mission is simple. When young people and women get the skills, financing, and hope they need, entire communities move forward.

The scope reaches beyond classrooms. Women and youth in agribusiness will receive support for poultry, fisheries, livestock, and beekeeping ventures. The program weaves in climate adaptation, financial literacy, peacebuilding, and business development services, especially in Northern Ghana where disparities hit hardest.

Ghana's Deputy Minister of Finance Thomas Ampem Nyarko called it a chance to restore opportunity and renew hope. The program aligns with Ghana's Big Push and 24-Hour Economy initiatives, which aim to transform the country through infrastructure investment, expanded productivity, and round-the-clock business operations.

The Ripple Effect

Beyond the 28,000 direct jobs, another 6,000 indirect positions will emerge as new businesses grow and trained workers join the economy. Communities gain not just employed residents but skilled entrepreneurs who can hire others, share knowledge, and build lasting enterprises. The African Development Bank's Halimah Hashi sees it as strengthening the foundations of inclusive growth, where progress reaches people who've waited too long for their turn.

The Social Investment Fund will implement the program alongside partners including the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme and Youth Employment Agency. Each committed to connecting skills, finance, and entrepreneurship in ways that transform daily reality for thousands of Ghanaians.

For women and young people across Ghana, the program offers more than a certificate or a loan—it offers a stronger place in their country's future.