Author: Victoria Kwofie
The Ministry of Youth Development and Empowerment, in partnership with AGRA, has officially launched the Youth Xplore App and the AgTractive App to create new pathways for young people across Ghana.
The event, held on Tuesday, 2nd December 2025 at Fiesta Royale Hotel, brought together the sector Minister, Hon. George Opare Addo, Chief Director Madam Emma Ofori Agyemang, CEO of NEIP Mr. Eric Adjei, AGRA representatives, development partners, youth organisations, and beneficiaries of youth support programs.
The AGRA Country Director Dr. Betty Simawua Annan expressed gratitude to the Ministry for the partnership that led to the development of the AgTractive campaign and the Youth Explorer platform. She emphasized that the initiative was built on the belief that agriculture is no longer a subsistence activity but a field of innovation, technology, and entrepreneurship. Through the national youth tracker, young people will gain access to jobs, internships, training programs, and agribusiness opportunities. The platform will also provide real-time data to guide policies, address gaps, and reflect the aspirations of Ghanaian youth.
She further highlighted AGRA’s commitment through its five-year youth-centered program, implemented in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation—the YESHA Program—operating across ten African countries, including Ghana. The program targets youth, especially young women aged 18–35, who are eager to innovate and build careers in agriculture. She expressed confidence that the Tracker and the AgTractive Campaign will expand opportunities for young people by leveraging national initiatives such as EduManga and the National Apprenticeship Program, reinforcing AGRA’s dedication to partnering with the Ministry to create meaningful work opportunities for the youth.
Before beginning his address, Minister Opare Addo called for a minute of silence in memory of the young people who lost their lives in the recent Armed Forces recruitment stampede at the El-Wak Sports Stadium. He acknowledged AGRA for fully funding the initiative, emphasizing that Ghanaian taxpayers had not incurred any cost at this stage. He extended appreciation to the Ministry’s leadership, partnering agencies, development partners, and the young people at the center of the initiative.
The Minister described the launch as a defining moment aligned with the President’s Reset Agenda, aimed at transforming how Ghana supports and empowers its youth. He noted that youth unemployment remains one of the nation’s most urgent challenges, with many young people feeling unsupported despite their talent and drive. For years, youth programs operated in silos, resulting in scattered data, duplication of support, and unequal access to opportunities.
He highlighted that the newly introduced National Youth Tracker provides, for the first time, an integrated system combining data and programs from NYA, YEA, NEIP, NSA, and other ministries. The Tracker uses Ghana-specific data to ensure fairness, efficient resource coordination, improved targeting, and transparency. It offers real-time insights into labour trends, regional opportunities, skills gaps, and program performance—ensuring that no young Ghanaian is left behind, regardless of location.
The Minister also introduced the Youth Explorer App, describing it as a tool that places opportunities directly into the hands of young people. Unlike traditional systems that focus solely on grades and certificates, Youth Explorer considers the whole person—skills, experiences, ambitions, and potential. He encouraged the youth to embrace the platform not as a source of entertainment, but as a transformative tool capable of shaping their future.
In the closing ramarks, Chief Director Madam Emma Ofori Agyemang encouraged the youth of Ghana to fully explore the apps and make the most of the opportunities available. She reminded them that in today’s digital age, these platforms have been purposefully designed to help young people showcase their talents, access support, and unlock pathways to personal and economic growth.
With AGRA’s support, the Ministry of Youth Development and Empowerment has begun building a secure and harmonised national digital ecosystem that integrates data from NYA, YEA, NEIP, and NSA—creating a unified system to drive effective, transparent, and inclusive youth development across the country.