Ghana's economy grew 6.0% in the second quarter of 2026, and one sector did much of the work. Figures from the Ghana Statistical Service show that Information and Communication grew 30.9% year on year and accounted for 41.5% of all growth in the economy (Reuters, via CNBC Africa).
Not a one-off spike
The Q2 figure is the latest step in a steady climb. ICT grew 20.2% across 2025 (Ghana News Agency), 25.2% in the first quarter of 2026 (GBC) and 30.9% in the second, up from 21.3% a year earlier.
"This is not a one-off spike," Government Statistician Dr Alhassan Iddrisu said, noting that the sector has posted double-digit growth in every quarter for the past three years (Reuters, via CNBC Africa). A trend that has held for three years is one you can plan a career around.
Output is not the same as jobs
GDP figures measure what the economy produces, not who gets hired. Growth in ICT output turns into jobs for the people who can build, run and connect the systems behind it: the web applications a business depends on, the servers and networks they run on, and the APIs that let a bank talk to a mobile money platform or a ministry's database talk to its public portal.
Speaking at the CIHRM conference in Accra in June, MTN Ghana's Chief Human Resources Officer, Esi Mmirba Wilson, argued that recruitment alone will not close Ghana's skills gap, and pointed to estimates that nearly 40% of workers' current skills will be obsolete or need major upgrading by 2030 (Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications). "Technology alone does not transform organisations. People do," she said.
Ghanaian tech employers increasingly look past the degree to what a candidate can actually do, and one working, deployed project counts for more than a stack of certificates (TechPointGH).
When everyone holds the same certificate
The One Million Coders Programme has recorded around 140,000 registrations and more than 10,000 completions, with a target of 300,000 to 400,000 learners by the end of the year (Ghana Business News). Its certifications are now being built into degree and diploma programmes at universities including the University of Ghana and KNUST (TechAfrica News).
When hundreds of thousands of people hold the same entry-level certificate, it gets you considered, not hired. What separates candidates is what sits on top of it:
- a specialised skill that fewer people have
- a real project you can show and explain
- a certificate an employer can check for themselves
A national programme cannot specialise everyone; that step is on the learner. We wrote a longer guide on it: After One Million Coders.
Choosing where to start
At Pinuno Academy we built three routes around the layers of work described above.
Starting from zero
Computing Basics (5 weeks) covers files, email, the internet, spreadsheets and how a computer works. It suits school leavers waiting on placement, adults returning to work, and anyone who wants to use a computer without relying on someone else.
Building applications
PHP Application Developer (6 weeks) teaches you to build web applications with PHP 8 and MySQL. PHP runs a large share of the web, including many of the systems Ghanaian businesses use every day. You finish with a portfolio project, which makes it a natural next step after a free coding programme.
Connecting systems
WSO2 API Manager (12 weeks) is for developers with some experience, system administrators, and IT staff at banks, telcos and fintechs. API management is how an organisation publishes and secures its services so that partners can connect without touching its core systems. Few people in Ghana can configure this kind of platform, and the Bank of Ghana's open banking pilot for banks and fintechs is built on standardised APIs (News Ghana).
All three courses are online and self-paced, you pay with MTN MoMo or Telecel Cash, and every certificate can be checked by anyone at pinuno.com.gh/verify-certificate.
What to ask of any training
Whether you train with us or with someone else, ask four questions before you pay:
- Is it taught by people who do this work for a living?
- Will I finish with something I built?
- Can an employer verify my certificate without making a phone call?
- Does it lead to a next step?
Conclusion
Ghana's growth is now substantially digital, and three years of data say it is holding. That growth goes to people whose skills an employer can see and verify. The five-question quiz at pinuno.com.gh/quiz recommends a starting route, and the full course list with current fees is at pinuno.com.gh/courses.