As part of the government’s 1 Million Coders Programme, many laptops have been delivered, training centres opened and the registrations for the initiative keep climbing. But is this what the entire initiative is all about?
This is the question the Centre for Economic Research and Policy Analysis (CERPA) is asking about the One Million Coders Programme.
After reviewing the Ministry of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations’ updates available as of 19 October 2026, the think tank says success must go well beyond the visible signs of progress.
The Numbers So Far
The programme aims to train one million Ghanaians in digital skills over four years. As of September 2026, about 140,000 people had registered, while more than 10,000 had completed their courses, according to figures announced by the Minister.
Those figures also show how big the gap is between signing up and finishing. On the infrastructure side, the Ministry has signed Memoranda of Understanding with 11 universities to embed digital certifications into degree and diploma programmes.
Moreover, MTN Ghana also contributed about US$2 million towards laptop procurement. CERPA does not dispute that this is progress. However, its argument is that these are inputs, and inputs are not outcomes.
The Question CERPA Wants Answered
For CERPA, the impact of the bold initiative must go beyond the laptops, the training centres, the collaborations, and the growing registrations.
The critical question the think tank believes the initiative must answer is how much of this activity is turning into jobs, higher incomes and improved business productivity? CERPA says the answer is not yet visible in the public updates.
What CERPA Recommends
The think tank wants the programme to report transparently, every quarter, on four measures:
Course completion: how many learners actually finish, not just register
Verified employment: how many graduates land jobs, with the claims checked
Earnings: whether graduates’ incomes rise after training
Business outcomes: whether the skills improve how businesses perform
The think tank indicates that together, these would show whether training is turning into real economic value.
Work in Progress
The Ministry has been engaging learners directly. After a monitoring visit in the Ashanti Region, participants called for clearer pathways to employment and further training once they complete the programme.
The Minister has also said the Ministry is talking to industry partners about internships, remote employment and business process outsourcing placements for graduates. Those plans point in the direction CERPA is asking about. What CERPA wants is for the results to be tracked and published.
The Bottomline
CERPA puts it plainly that the real measure of success is not how many people enrol. It is how many acquire relevant skills and use them to improve their livelihoods and contribute to Ghana’s digital economy.
For a programme with a million-person target, the figures worth watching may not be the registrations. They may be how many graduates are earning.
