Deputy Communications Minister, Vincent Sowah Odotei, has acknowledged that basic coding plays a major role in the realization of government’s ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ agenda.

According to Vincent Sowah Odotei, coding is essential in equipping the youth to create applications and develop websites which are marketable on the global market, thus promoting Ghana beyond Aid.

He made this known at the first session of Vodafone Ghana’s national coding programme at the Accra Digital Centre on Friday, August 24, 2018.

“Our agenda of Ghana beyond Aid cannot be fully realized if we do not have our kids providing and producing apps that are commercially viable that the rest of the world will want to buy so that we can determine our future.”

The Deputy Communications Minister added that: “As a ministry and as a government, we really want to continue on our digitalization programme and part of this is to ensure that these kids understand what coding is and they get it at this young age.”

He reiterated the relevance of coding in developing new technologies and lauded Vodafone Ghana for undertaking such a project. He also called on other stakeholders to make contributions in order to ensure that Ghana becomes a digital hub in Africa.

“Coding is the future. We need to equip our youth with the language of the future which is coding so that we transform ourselves from just mere consumers of technology to creators of technology. We are very excited that Vodafone has taken the step to launch the coding programme nationwide. I will invite and encourage the other stakeholders in this space to also do the same because our kids need it,” he stated.

Vodafone Ghana, as part of its vision to ignite Ghana’s digital revolution, has rolled out a nationwide coding programme for young Ghanaians between the ages of 14 and 18. With the programme projected to take place in all ten regions, about 10,000 Ghanaian youth are estimated to be beneficiaries.