Government Targets 50,000 Persons with Disabilities in New Digital Skills Drive

The government has announced a programme to train 50,000 persons with disabilities as part of efforts to ensure that Ghana’s digital transformation leaves no section of society behind.

Deputy Chief of Staff for Administration and Finance, Nana Oye Bampoe Addo, disclosed this during the opening of the 2026 National ICT Week, where she emphasised the need for greater inclusion in Ghana’s digital economy.

She said digital transformation could only be considered successful if its benefits reached young people, women, persons with disabilities and communities that remained underserved by digital infrastructure.

“Alongside a pilot phase that has 52 per cent female participants,” she said, highlighting the government's deliberate effort to promote inclusion in digital skills development.

The announcement forms part of a broader government strategy to expand access to digital skills and economic opportunities.

Nana Oye Bampoe Addo said the government was implementing a five-point approach under its reset agenda, focusing on digital infrastructure, digital public services, skills development, entrepreneurship and innovation, and cybersecurity and data protection.

She explained that the government was particularly focused on expanding digital infrastructure to underserved communities to ensure that geographical and economic circumstances did not prevent citizens from participating in the digital economy.

She said Ghana’s relatively high internet penetration provided a strong foundation for the country’s digital transformation but cautioned that access alone was not enough.

According to her, Ghana must also ensure that citizens possess the skills and confidence needed to make productive use of digital technologies.

She pointed to the One Million Coders Programme, which received 94,000 applications within 48 hours and has expanded to 130 centres across all 16 regions.

The initiative, she said, had attracted nearly 150,000 registered participants, demonstrating the enormous interest among Ghanaians, particularly young people, in digital skills.

Nana Oye Bampoe Addo said the strong response showed that technology was increasingly being viewed by young people as a pathway to economic empowerment.

She said the government was committed to ensuring that persons with disabilities were equally positioned to benefit from the opportunities being created by the digital economy.

The Deputy Chief of Staff also highlighted the gender gap in global digital access.

She noted that globally there were about 280 million more men than women online, while women’s internet connectivity in Africa continued to trail that of men.

She said the situation required deliberate policies to ensure that women and other underserved groups were not excluded from the digital revolution.

“Our approach under the government's reset agenda is simple: inclusion, equality and safety. These are not optional extras. They are the foundation of the government of Ghana's genuine digital participation,” she said.

She also stressed the importance of cybersecurity and digital literacy, particularly as more citizens moved their activities online.

Nana Oye Bampoe Addo said the government's digital agenda must therefore combine access, skills and safety.

She called on the private sector, academia, civil society organisations and development partners to support the government's efforts to expand inclusive digital skills training.

She further urged stakeholders to help persons trained under such programmes transition from learning into meaningful employment, entrepreneurship and innovation.

According to her, inclusion should not end with providing training opportunities but must extend to ensuring that participants can access the tools, finance and markets needed to build sustainable livelihoods.

Nana Oye Bampoe Addo said Ghana’s digital transformation offered enormous opportunities for economic growth but insisted that the country must ensure that no group was left behind.

She said the 2026 National ICT Week should therefore serve as a platform for building partnerships that would make digital inclusion a lasting reality across Ghana.

“The celebration", she said, “should mark another decisive step in Ghana’s journey towards a truly inclusive digital transformation and shared economic prosperity for all its people, especially the youth of Ghana.”

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