Ghana

Growing cities, changing opportunities for young people

Ghana is urbanising rapidly, with a large young population and cities playing an increasingly important role in the country’s social and economic development. Education, digitalisation, and entrepreneurship are creating new possibilities for young people, but access to these opportunities remains uneven. As cities continue to grow, how young people participate in and benefit from this change will become increasingly important.

Challenges

Turning potential into meaningful opportunities

Young people in Ghana navigate a changing landscape of education, work and technology. While access to education has expanded, pathways into further learning, decent employment and entrepreneurship remain uneven. Digital technologies are opening new possibilities, but access, skills and meaningful participation vary. Creating stronger connections between learning, economic opportunity and civic participation can help more young people pursue the futures they choose.

Cities

Building from Koforidua and exploring different cities

Koforidua is an important starting point for Fondation Botnar’s future work in Ghana. Through Kofkro, we have built relationships and experience with young people, local government and civil society. We are now exploring additional cities to understand their strengths, priorities and potential for collaboration, informing where we can make long-term commitments to strengthen local ecosystems around young people.

Young people helping shape the future of Ghana’s growing cities.

Approach

Connecting experience across Ghana’s cities

Our work in Ghana spans youth participation, education, economic opportunities, digital inclusion and mental health. As we develop our future country programme, we will build on this experience while creating stronger connections between existing initiatives and emerging priorities. Evidence and learning from different cities will help inform how our engagement evolves over time.