Background of the Project
In June 2022, the Government of Ghana (GoG) signed a 5-year (2022-2027) agreement with the African Development Bank (AfDB) to implement Post COVID-19 Skills Development and Productivity Enhancement Project (PSDPEP).

Total Cost of the Project
The PSDPEP is being funded from a grant facility of $31.34 million comprising:

1. $28.5 million from the African Development Bank (AfDB); and
2. $2.84 from the Government of Ghana (GoG).

Main Objective of the Project:
The main objective of PSDPEP is to contribute to Ghana’s sustainable post-COVID-19 recovery in the health sector and support the restoration of livelihoods, income and employment opportunities and private sector development.

Specific Objectives of the Project:
The specific objectives of PSDPEP are to:

• To support health-related skills development in higher education (at the University of Ghana-Legon) for the ultimate enhancement of Ghana’s healthcare delivery system; and
• To promote technical and entrepreneurship for job creation among youth and women.

Components of the Project:

PSDPEP has 3 components namely:

Component 1: Skills Development in Higher Education for Strengthening the Health Sector
This component will support the recovery of Ghana’s healthcare system from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and enhance its resilience against future pandemics. The component will support the:

1. Construction of three (3) climate-proofed and gender responsive health-related skills and research facilities (for microbiological research and skills development, biotechnological research and skills development, and nursing and midwifery research skills development and), at the University of Ghana, Legon.
2. Sustainable procurement of equipment and furniture for the three (3) skills development and research facilities.
3. Conducting of biomedical and biotechnological discovery research to enhance Ghana’s human capacities to handle current diseases and future pandemics’ clinical laboratory testing, discovery of drugs, and prevention measures.
4. Training of about two hundred and fifteen (215) faculty and research staff of the three (3) facilities through scholarships provided by the Project to increase teaching staff to train additional health care personnel and high-end researchers especially to the doctoral degree levels.
5. Strengthening of the health and Medium Small and Micro Enterprises (MSMEs) communication capacity of the Ghana News Agency (GNA) by digitalizing its systems, rehabilitating its buildings at five (5) stations, training its one hundred and forty-four (144) staff or journalists in health and MSMEs communication.

Component 2: Rebuilding Youth and Women’s Livelihoods Through Entrepreneurship and
Employment Creation

The component will support the rebuilding of livelihoods and sources of income among youths and women for them to recover from the socioeconomic shocks or impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on individuals, households, and enterprises, especially those operating (MSMEs) that were directly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. It will support:

1. Construction of up to four (4) climate-resilient technical skills development centres;
2. Provision of technical and climate-smart skills training for women, youths and other vulnerable groups in priority training areas (including agri-industries, construction-skills such as tiling, welding, plumbing and plaster of Paris (PoP), tourism, creative arts and hospitality catering; and ICT / digital skills).
3. Provision of entrepreneurial (including financial literacy) and climate-smart skills training among youths and women and other vulnerable groups to enhance their productivity and employability.
4. Provision of low carbon emission equipment for the technical skills training centers.
5. Establishment of a United States Four Million (US$ 4 million) credit facility to support (MSMEs) of women and youth to recover from COVID-19 impacts, creation of at least four thousand eight hundred (4,800) jobs and form a basis for the establishment of Ghana’s Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Bank.
6. Digitalization of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) loan management system to enhance its efficiency and coverage and to create about twenty thousand (20,000) indirect jobs.

Component 3: Project Management

This component will provide technical and administrative support for the implementation of project activities under the two (2) components above, including:

1. Preparation and utilization of Project implementation manuals, financial management and procurement training for Project implementing institutions, monitoring Project implementation progress.
2. Facilitating procurement and financial management activities (including disbursement, financial control and reporting, and audits).
3. Technical training.
4. Producing periodic (quarterly and annual) Project progress reports.

The component will also facilitate the conduct of the project’s proposed one (1) launching mission, two (2) supervision Missions a year, a Mid-Term Review, and a Project Completion Report.

Project Operating Areas:

The project will be implemented in the seven regions of Ghana namely, Greater Accra Region; Ashanti Region; Eastern Region; Bono Region; Northern Region; Western Region; and Upper West Region.

Project Beneficiaries:

Beneficiaries of the Project are:

• Staff and clients of the project implementing institutions.
• Youth and women operating MSMEs and/or in cooperatives.
• The population of Ghana in general.

The Project Implementing Institutions:

The Project implementing institutions are:

• The Social Investment Fund (SIF)
• Ghana News Agency (GNA)
• Microfinance and Small Loans Centre