By : Arko Dometey
Ghana’s motorized tricycle sector has become one of the fastestgrowing heartbeats of the national economy. Valued at USD 652 million in 2025 and projected to reach USD 938 million by 2032, the country recorded more than 230,000 import shipments in a single year. These vehicles – locally known as Aboboyaa (cargo) and Pragya (passenger) – have transformed agriculture and urban logistics. Farmers now move produce volumes 33 times greater than before, while postharvest losses have fallen by more than 78 percent.
Yet beneath this success lies a puzzle. The repair and maintenance ecosystem remains overwhelmingly informal, dominated by untrained roadside mechanics and counterfeit parts. Meanwhile, Ghana’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions – equipped with workshops, certified instructors, and curricula in smallengine repair – are not aligned with the realities of the tricycle economy. Training is generic, partnerships with manufacturers are absent, apprenticeships are limited, and graduates lack both spareparts logistics knowledge and entrepreneurship skills. The result is a cruel irony – thousands of trained youth remain unemployed, while the tricycle sector struggles to find skilled labor.
To bridge this divide, experts propose a TripleA Framework. First, Alignment – curricula must be reoriented to match the technical specifications of dominant brands such as Bajaj, Sonlink, and Apsonic. Second, Apprenticeship – structured, creditbearing pathways should link TVET institutions with authorized dealers and large workshop clusters. Third, Autonomy – graduates must be equipped with entrepreneurship training and starter capital to establish repair enterprises, particularly in underserved rural districts.
The employment multiplier is significant. Proper integration of TVET into the tricycle sector could generate 3,000 – 5,000 certified mechanics, 500–800 diagnostic technicians, 800 – 1,200 spareparts managers, and 200 – 400 electric tricycle technicians annually. Professional maintenance would extend tricycle lifespans from 5 – 7 years to 8 – 12 years, reduce replacement imports by up to 40 percent, and save millions in foreign exchange.
Embedding this framework within Ghana’s 24 – Hour Economy vision makes the case even stronger. The initiative aims to extend economic activity beyond traditional working hours, ensuring industries and logistics operate continuously. Applied to the tricycle sector, this means certified TVETtrained mechanics, spareparts dealers, and logistics operators could provide roundtheclock services to farmers, transporters, and delivery companies. Instead of waiting days for repairs, operators would access skilled technicians at any hour, reducing downtime and protecting incomes. The benefits are clear: continuous employment opportunities through shiftbased repair hubs, boosted agricultural productivity during peak harvest nights, and enhanced urban logistics for ecommerce and delivery services.
International stakeholders have a vital role in scaling this model. UNESCOUNEVOC could launch “Tricycle TVET Africa” to develop opensource curricula for tropical conditions and electric drivetrains. The World Bank and IFC could finance diagnostic equipment and workshop upgrades. The ILO could certify informal mechanics and integrate them into social protection schemes. The African Development Bank could embed maintenance training within its Feed Africa strategy, recognizing that mechanization without maintenance is a depreciating asset. Bilateral donors should ensure that every tricycle donation is paired with a trained mechanic and a spareparts network.
This agenda directly advances several UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):
- SDG 4: Quality Education – aligning TVET curricula with real market demand.
- SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth – creating thousands of skilled jobs in both rural and urban areas.
- SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure – strengthening repair ecosystems and local assembly capacity.
- SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production – extending asset lifespans and reducing wasteful imports.
- SDG 13: Climate Action – preparing technicians for electric tricycles and greener mobility solutions.
Ghana is at a turning point; on one path lies continued import dependency – a cycle where the nation ships in hundreds of thousands of tricycles annually, pays compounded levies, and watches those machines break down in the hands of untrained roadside mechanics. On the other path lies skills sovereignty – a future where youth graduating from institutions like the Accra Technical Training Centre (ATTC) do not merely hold certificates, but hold the keys to a USD 652 million economy that is desperate for their talent.
The tricycle is already changing Ghana. Now, TVET must change with it – shaping skills, driving futures, and powering Africa’s informal economies into engines of growth.
The author is a TVET Advocate and President of the Conference of Principals of Technical Institutions ( COPTI)
