Govt rolls out one million coders programme nationwide with laptop distribution

The Ministry of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations has presented laptops to institutions and learning centres across the country to support the nationwide rollout of the One Million Coders Programme.

The flagship initiative aims to equip young Ghanaians with coding and digital skills for employment in the global digital economy.

Speaking at a presentation ceremony in Accra last Friday, the Minister said lessons from the pilot phase had shaped the national rollout to ensure the programme delivers practical skills and job opportunities.

Mr George added that under Phase One, the programme will operate in 130 centres across all 16 regions, each equipped with 50 customised laptops configured for coding training.

The rollout is being implemented in collaboration with the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC), Ghana Digital Centres Limited, and the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT. Twelve universities, including the University of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, and the University of Cape Coast, are part of the first phase.

The Minister also acknowledged private sector support, particularly from MTN Ghana, which contributed resources valued at about US$2 million to procure additional laptops for selected universities.

He noted that the government has recruited 130 constituency-level coordinators to manage the centres and provide technical support, with plans to expand coverage nationwide.

Launched nearly a year ago by President John Dramani Mahama, the programme began with a pilot phase targeting 500 trainees across four centres in Accra, Kumasi, Sunyani, and Tamale. Overwhelming public interest saw nearly 94,000 applications within 48 hours, leading to an expansion that trained about 1,000 participants.