At the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel in Accra on June 10, 2026, government officials, development partners and implementing agencies gathered around a shared ambition: to give more women and young people in Ghana the skills, financing and support they need to build livelihoods, grow businesses and contribute to stronger communities.
That ambition now has a vehicle. The Ghana Women and Youth Employment and Social Cohesion Programme (GWYESCO), supported by the African Development Bank Group (Bank Group), was officially launched.
The programme which runs through 2029, aims at expanding economic opportunities for women and young people, especially in vulnerable and underserved communities where unemployment, limited access to finance, and social pressures continue to constrain potential.
Implemented by the Social Investment Fund, with the Ministry of Finance as executing agency, the programme is backed by an African Development Bank grant of about US$71 million. It is expected to support job creation, skills development, entrepreneurship, and access to finance and resilience-building across the country.
For Abass-Adams Nurudeen, Chief Executive Officer of the Social Investment Fund and GWYESCO Project Coordinator, the programme is anchored in a simple but powerful belief: when women and young people are equipped with market-relevant skills, financing opportunities and hope, communities and nations thrive.
He said the programme responds to challenges many young people and women entrepreneurs know too well: limited access to market-relevant skills, finance, technology and markets. "The GWYESCO Programme has been designed to respond directly to these challenges through three key interventions: promoting market-driven training aligned with industry needs and emerging sectors; expanding access to financial and non-financial services for women- and youth-owned micro, small and medium-sized enterprises; and strengthening institutional capacity and accountability systems to ensure sustainable programme delivery," he said.
The African Development Bank Country Manager for Ghana, Halimah Hashi, described the launch as more than a formal ceremony.
She called it "a decisive step towards transforming the lives of women and youth in Ghana and towards strengthening the foundations of inclusive growth and social cohesion."
A target of creating more than 28,000 direct jobs.
The scale of that promise is significant. The programme is expected to create over 28,000 direct, and 6,000 indirect jobs. It will renovate and equip ten technical and vocational education and training centres, where women and youth will train in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, creative and digital skills, including artificial intelligence.
Beyond classrooms and training centres, GWYESCO will reach farms, enterprises and local communities. It will support women and youth in agribusiness and agricultural value chains, including poultry, fisheries, livestock and beekeeping. The programme also integrates peacebuilding, climate adaptation, financial literacy and business development services. These interventions are intended to reduce vulnerabilities, address spatial disparities and promote resilience, especially in Northern Ghana.
For the African Development Bank, the programme also builds on a long-standing partnership with Ghana that dates to 1973. Hashi said GWYESCO aligns with Ghana's development priorities, including the "Big Push" and 24-Hour Economy agendas, as well as the Bank's strategic focus on turning Africa's demographic potential into dividends and building resilient economies. The government of Ghana's "Big Push" and "24-hour Economy" initiatives aim to drive rapid transformation, by investing in critical infrastructure, expanding productivity, creating jobs, and enabling businesses and services to operate around the clock.
Speaking on behalf of the Government of Ghana, Deputy Minister of Finance Thomas Ampem Nyarko framed the programme as a chance to restore opportunity and renew hope. He said it affirms the central role of women and young people in Ghana's national transformation.
He thanked the Bank Group for its continued support to Ghana's development agenda and called on women and young people to seize the opportunity on offer. He also expressed confidence in the Social Investment Fund's capacity to deliver results, citing its experience in implementing donor-funded projects.
The launch also brought together representatives of partner implementing agencies, including the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme, the Youth Employment Agency, the GRATIS Foundation, the Northern Development Authority and other programme partners. Each reaffirmed its commitment to working with the Social Investment Fund to achieve the programme's results.
Running through 2029, GWYESCO is expected to connect skills, finance, entrepreneurship and social cohesion in practical ways that can change lives. For thousands of women and young people, the programme offers more than training or funding. It offers a pathway to work, enterprise, resilience and a stronger place in Ghana's development story.
