The Ministry of Youth Development and Employment (MYDE) on Tuesday
launched three major national initiatives — the National Youth Tracker Platform, the YouthXplore Mobile App, and the AGRA-driven AgTractive Campaign — marking a decisive national shift toward digitally coordinated youth development, data-driven policy planning, and renewed youth engagement in modern agriculture.
The event, held in Accra, brought together policymakers, development partners, youth agency heads, private sector leaders and young innovators. It also highlighted a deepened partnership between the Ministry and the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), with AGRA providing full funding and technical support for the development of both the digital platforms and the nationwide AgTractive movement.
Officials described the launch as a “historic reset” in how Ghana identifies, supports and invests in its rapidly growing youth population, which represents nearly 70 percent of all citizens.
A Unified Digital Ecosystem for Youth Development
Under the partnership, AGRA supported MYDE to build the National Youth Tracker Platform, a centralized system that for the first time integrates data from four major youth institutions: the National Youth Authority (NYA), Youth Employment Agency (YEA), National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP), and the National Service Authority (NSA).
The platform is designed to:
Harmonize youth program data in a single national ecosystem
Provide real-time dashboards for monitoring impact and program effectiveness
Reduce duplication of interventions across agencies
Deliver predictive analytics and geospatial mapping
Strengthen equitable access to government services
AGRA officials say the system aligns with global best practices for data-
driven youth development and is tailored with Ghana-specific analytics to support targeted, transparent, and evidence-led policymaking.
Complementing the national dashboard is the AI-enabled YouthXplore Mobile App, designed as the youth-facing hub for accessing jobs, internships, training, scholarships, business funding, apprenticeships and national service pathways.
The app provides:
AI-curated career pathways
Digital program registration
Personalized opportunity alerts
A social engagement space
Accessibility features including screen readers, voice navigation and high-contrast modes
MYDE leaders said YouthXplore introduces mentorship “at scale,” removing hurdles such as protocol-based selection and replacing them with transparent, automated eligibility checks.
Minister Opare Addo: “Today, We Begin a National Reset”
In a keynote address, Minister George Opare Addo said the launch signals a new era of transparency, fairness and intelligent coordination in Ghana’s youth ecosystem.
“Today is a defining moment,” he said. “For years, youth programs have operated in silos. Some young people received double support while others received none. We were working hard — but not smart.”
He emphasized that the National Youth Tracker will end duplication, enable accurate targeting and guide investment to underserved communities.
“This dashboard gives us something we have never had before: a clear, real-time picture of who is receiving support and where the gaps are,” he said. “It is the heart of a modern nation’s talent development system.”
The Minister also challenged existing
perceptions of agriculture, describing the AgTractive campaign as key to repositioning the sector as an innovative, profitable and technology-driven career path.
“AI may take many jobs, but it cannot take over the food we eat,” he said. “If young people venture into modern agriculture, the skies will be our limit.”
AGRA: Agriculture as Innovation and Opportunity
Delivering a solidarity message, Dr. Betty Simawua Annan, AGRA’s Ghana Country Director, reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to strengthening Ghana’s youth ecosystem.
“We believe we must create a better world for our youth,” she said. “The Youth Tracker will serve as a central hub for jobs, internships and agribusiness opportunities, while providing real-time data to guide national decisions.”
Dr. Annan highlighted global evidence showing the economic returns of investing in agriculture, noting that every dollar invested can yield up to $16 in broader economic benefits.
She described AgTractive — part of AGRA’s Youth Entrepreneurship for the Future of Food and Agriculture (YEFFA) program — as a campaign designed to inspire young people, especially women, to pursue entrepreneurship and employment in agrifood systems.
YEFFA, supported by the Mastercard Foundation, operates in 10 African countries and aims to create dignified work for over 1.5 million youth.
A Ministry Built for Purpose
In her welcome remarks, Emma Ofori Agyemang, Chief Director of MYDE, underscored the Ministry’s mandate to coordinate youth policy across sectors.
“With the creation of this ministry in 2025, we are tasked to harmonize all youth-focused interventions,” she said. “YouthXplore and AgTractive represent transformational steps toward an inclusive, coordinated future for Ghana’s youth.”
Agyemang noted the Ministry’s five
priority areas: youth health and well-being, skills development, economic empowerment, civic engagement and leadership development.
“These systems ensure no young person is invisible,” she said.
Youth Voices: “Platforms Like This Change Lives”
Young entrepreneur Gifty Asamoah, founder of Greanify and an AGRA alumna, praised the accessibility and opportunity the new platforms offer.
“As someone who builds digital platforms, I know the power they hold,” she said. “This system will open doors for entrepreneurs like me across Ghana.”
AgTractive: Rebranding Agriculture for a New Generation
At the center of the launch was AgTractive, a modern youth movement designed to:
Rebrand agriculture as innovative and tech-driven
Highlight successful young agripreneurs as role models
Mobilize youth to explore agribusiness opportunities via YouthXplore
Engage policymakers to remove
structural barriers
Build momentum for youth-led enterprises across the food system
The campaign aligns with the national goal of strengthening food systems while expanding employment for young Ghanaians.
A Call for Collaboration
The Minister urged state agencies, donors and the private sector to plug into the new ecosystem.
“To the private sector, this is your first chance to connect to talent across the entire country with precision,” he said. “To donors — your investments will now be visible and traceable. To parents —
your children no longer walk alone.”
He encouraged youth to download the YouthXplore App and build their profiles, saying the system was designed to make opportunity accessible regardless of background, geography or political affiliation.
“I see a Ghana where a young girl in Wa has the same access to opportunity as someone in Accra,” he said. “That is the Ghana we are building.”
With that, he officially declared the YouthXplore App, National Youth Tracker Platform and AgTractive Campaign launched.
A New Era for Ghana’s Youth
The launch marks one of the most ambitious youth development reforms in Ghana’s recent history, combining digital transformation, institutional strengthening and agricultural rebranding.
As Ghana faces rising youth unemployment and shifting global labor trends, stakeholders say these tools will help secure a more equitable future.
“This is not just a launch,” Minister Opare Addo said. “It is the beginning of a new architecture for youth opportunity in Ghana.”
By Kingsley Asiedu
