Vice President Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang has said Ghana must create more opportunities for its growing working-age population because the public sector cannot employ everyone.

Speaking at the World Bank Western and Central Africa Senior Leadership Team Retreat, the Vice President said Ghana’s working-age population is growing rapidly, making job creation an important national priority.

“Our working-age population is growing rapidly, so the public sector cannot employ everyone,” she said.

She said the government is therefore working to create the right conditions for businesses to start, grow, compete and employ more people.

According to her, achieving this will require a stable economy, stronger institutions, relevant education and better access to affordable financing.

The Vice President noted that many Ghanaian businesses with the potential to grow still struggle to access the financing they need, with women entrepreneurs facing particular difficulties.

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She said the Women’s Development Bank is expected to help more women-owned businesses grow from small enterprises into stronger and more sustainable businesses capable of creating jobs.

“The Women’s Development Bank is intended to help more women-owned businesses transition from small enterprises to stronger, more sustainable businesses that can create jobs,” she said.

Opoku-Agyemang also called for a stronger connection between education and job opportunities.

She said programmes such as the One Million Coders Programme and technical and vocational education should equip people to find work, start businesses and create value.

She added that the digital economy presents Ghana with an opportunity to connect the skills of young people to jobs and opportunities around the world without requiring them to leave the country.

She also pointed to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as a major opportunity for African businesses.

However, she warned that access to a market of about 1.4 billion people would mean little if countries lacked the production capacity, financing, infrastructure and skills needed to compete.

“A market of 1.4 billion people means little if we lack the productive capacity, finance, infrastructure and skills to compete in it,” she said in a Facebook post on September 4, 2026.

The Vice President said education must ultimately prepare people to contribute to the economy, create value and take advantage of available opportunities.



DR/MA