The 24-Hour Economy Secretariat and the Business Outsourcing Services Association of Ghana (BOSAG) have outlined plans to develop Ghana’s outsourcing talent pool through strategic investments in skills development, infrastructure and market access. The initiative, aimed at positioning Ghana as a leading destination for outsourcing and digital services, was highlighted at a BOSAG roundtable in Accra, which brought together industry leaders, development partners and government officials to brainstorm on how Ghana’s human resources could be outsourced. Speaking at the event on Tuesday, the Presidential Advisor on the 24-Hour Economy, Augustus Goosie Tanoh, described the outsourcing sector as a key driver of employment creation and foreign exchange earnings. The sector could help address unemployment among young people by creating pathways that connect education, skills development and employment opportunities. “Our sourcing addresses that gap directly. It hires educated youth, trains them to international standards and pays them from export earnings,” he said. Mr Tanoh noted that the 24-Hour Economy Secretariat would collaborate with BOSAG through the Aspire24 programme to align training curricula with industry demands and create training-to-employment pathways for young people. He said the partnership would also focus on building multilingual capabilities to enable Ghanaian workers to serve markets across Africa and beyond. “We will work with BOSAG to align curricula with the roles your members hire for, build training-to-employment pathways with commitments on both sides and develop multilingual capability because the markets of AfCFTA and ECOWAS speak French and Portuguese as well as English,” he said. As part of efforts to expand opportunities beyond Accra, Mr Tanoh announced BOSAG’s involvement in the development of the proposed Ukwa Tech Park at the University of Cape Coast. The project is expected to provide approximately 3,000 outsourcing seats and a skills training centre, while serving as a model for similar developments in other regions. The Presidential Advisor said the Secretariat was also supporting the development of technology parks and outsourcing infrastructure across the country to promote job creation in secondary cities. The Chief Executive Officer of BOSAG, David Gowu, said Ghana possessed all the necessary ingredients to become a major outsourcing destination, including a youthful population, improving digital infrastructure and a growing pool of graduates entering the labour market each year. He said more than 100,000 graduates completed tertiary education annually, creating a significant talent pool for the business process outsourcing (BPO), global business services (GBS) and IT-enabled services sectors. BOSAG’s five-year strategy seeks to create 100,000 jobs through the growth and expansion of the outsourcing ecosystem. “We have the talent. We have the infrastructure. What we need is deliberate action to connect these young people to opportunities and make Ghana more visible to global investors,” Mr Gowu said. He noted that BOSAG had intensified efforts to promote Ghana internationally through industry roundtables, research publications, investor engagement programmes and strategic partnerships aimed at showcasing the country’s outsourcing capabilities. The association had recently organised engagements in Ghana and the United Kingdom as part of efforts to attract investors and position Ghana competitively within the global outsourcing industry. Globally, outsourcing has become a multi-trillion-dollar industry, with countries such as India, the Philippines, Egypt, South Africa and Kenya leveraging the sector to create jobs and earn substantial foreign exchange. Ghana is seeking to increase its share of that market by promoting itself as a competitive destination for digitally delivered services. The country’s prospects have been strengthened by recent international recognition. According to World Trade Organisation estimates, Ghana recorded approximately US$6.2 billion in digitally delivered services exports in 2022, making it one of Africa’s leading exporters in the segment. The Board Chairman and Founder of eServices Africa Limited (eSAL), Kojo Hayford, said AI should be viewed as an enabler rather than a threat, explaining that while technology could automate routine tasks, human workers would continue to provide critical judgement, empathy and decision-making capabilities. “What we’re doing here is using AI tools and embedding the human element. AI can do the heavy lifting, but young people will still be needed for the judgement work,” he said. Mr Hayford stressed the need to prepare Ghana’s workforce for the future of work by equipping young people with skills that complement emerging technologies. He announced plans by eSAL, Ghana’s premier indigenous business process outsourcing and IT solutions company, to establish a delivery centre in Tamale, describing the initiative as part of a broader strategy to extend outsourcing opportunities to secondary cities and underserved communities. Talent could be found across the country, he said, and that expanding outsourcing operations beyond Accra would contribute significantly to job creation, regional development and inclusive economic growth.