The Ghana Women and Youth Employment and Social Cohesion (GWYESCO) Programme seeks to contribute meaningfully to Ghana’s long-term development goals by enhancing resilience and promoting social stability. The overall development objective of the Programme is to enhance the resilience and living conditions of women and youth by fostering economic inclusion and social cohesion through job creation, entrepreneurship, access to finance and skills development. The Programme will then focus mainly of job creation and social cohesion through training in STEM, digital and creative skills, as well as improving access to finance for women- and youth-owned MSMEs. It will also support, peace building and social cohesion, particularly in Northern Ghana. The Programme duration is spread over three fiscal years (2026-2028). The specific objectives of the Programme are to: 

1. invest in women and youth entrepreneurs by promoting access to technical skills, finance and business development services;
2. strengthen the capacity of institutions to undertake M&E and E&S as well as prevent vulnerability to conflict and violent extremism in Northern Ghana; and 
3. address challenges related to women and youth unemployment, inequality, poverty, conflicts, and vulnerability to climate change, particularly in Northern Ghana.    

The Programme beneficiaries are youth aged 18-35 years and women aged 18 years and above. The targeted geographical areas are Central and Eastern Regions, as well as the Northern Ghana, consisting of Upper West, Upper East, and Savannah Regions. Other Programme beneficiaries include Additionally, strategic institutions will benefit through capacity building to strengthen systems for effective delivery.

The Ghana Women and Youth Employment and Social Cohesion (GWYESCO) Programme (2026 – 2028) will focus on three key outcome areas:

• Skills development to enhance wage & employability; 
• Improved access to finance and markets to strengthen women and youth owned MSMEs; and 
• Institutional capacity building and policy reforms.

The Programme’s activities are organized under three (3) main result areas:

• Result Area 1: Addressing women and youth unemployment, inequality, poverty, conflicts, and vulnerability to climate change, particularly in Northern Ghana;
• Result Area 2: Enhance access to finance, business development services and skills development for women- and youth-owned micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Ghana's growth sectors; and
• Result Area 3: Strengthening national operational capacity, practices, sector framework and systems.
  The Programme is guided by five (5) sets of Disbursement Linked Indicators (DLIs), which include the following:

1. DLI 1: Number of women and youth in wage or self-employment;
2. DLI 2: Number of women and youth who have acquired skills in STEM, digital technology, and the creative industries;
3. DLI 3: Number of women- and youth-owned MSMEs supported with business and entrepreneurship development services training;
4. DLI 4: Number of women- and youth-owned MSMEs with access to finance; and
5. DLI 5: Number of institutions with strengthened capacity and integrated risk mitigation systems.

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) will execute the Programme through a designated Coordinating Agency, the Social Investment Fund (SIF), which will be responsible for the day-to-day implementation of the Programme, including training and capacity building of key implementing institutions and stakeholders, as well as undertaking monitoring and evaluation. A Steering Committee will be established to provide strategic direction, review implementation progress and ensure inter-institutional coordination.

The ARB Apex Bank will serve as the financial intermediary, under a tripartite agreement between MoF, SIF and ARB Apex Bank. It will be responsible for managing and disbursing funds under the revolving facility and ensuring compliance with agreed financial procedures. An Independent Verification Agent (IVA) will be contracted to verify the achievement of DLIs. The IVA will audit performance in line with the agreed verification protocol, covering all five DLIs associated with the AfDB financing.