Govt distributes over 8,500 laptops to 1 Million Coders project

The government has presented about 8,500 laptops to support the national rollout of the One Million Coders Programme (OMCP). The presentation marks the beginning of Phase one of the programme, which will see the deployment of laptops to 130 learning centres across the country, as well as selected universities, to facilitate training in coding, artificial intelligence and other digital skills.

Samuel Nartey George, the Minister of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, said the government had carefully assessed the pilot phase of the programme before scaling up to the nationwide rollout, emphasising that the initiative was not merely about training large numbers but ensuring measurable impact. Each of the 130 centres will receive 50 laptops, bringing the total allocation to approximately 6,500 devices for community-based training. About 2,000 laptops were secured through private sector support for distribution to universities, with further government supplies expected to augment the allocation. The pilot phase, launched nearly a year ago, initially targeted 500 beneficiaries across four centres, but received overwhelming interest, attracting about 94,000 applications within 48 hours. Ultimately, close to 1,000 participants were trained. The 130 learning centres are in all 16 regions, with the Greater Accra Region hosting the highest number. The government is collaborating with the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection to include persons with disabilities, allocating 50,000 slots through the Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations (GFD).

The first phase will be rolled out across 12 universities, with infrastructure support to enhance digital training on campuses. Agreements have been reached with industry players to absorb graduates into remote and outsourcing jobs. Samuel Nartey George said, "We've signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with an agency called II Africa that has