10 Years of Impact: Helping Africa Foundation calls for nationwide expansion of Nyamransa ICT model

Helping Africa Foundation Chairman Daniel Rose has called on governments across Africa to adopt and expand the Foundation’s youth technology and innovation laboratory model to give more children access to digital education, practical skills, and emerging technologies.

The chairman made the call in a solidarity message delivered by the Foundation’s Executive Director, Japhet Ayiku, at celebrations marking the Foundation’s 10th anniversary in Gbawe.

He recalled that the idea for the Foundation came after a meeting with then-President of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama, and the First Lady, Lordina Mahama, at their Accra residence in March 2014.

He said discussions at the meeting focused on Ghana’s economic and social challenges, particularly education and the condition of vulnerable women, especially in northern Ghana.

The discussions, he said, motivated him to explore ways of contributing to Ghana’s development.

Following consultations with his late friend John Whitehead, former chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs and former US Deputy Secretary of State, Rose said the Helping Africa Foundation was established in 2014 as a US-based nonprofit organisation.

More than 19 ICT laboratories
The chairman said the Foundation had increasingly focused its work on education, technology and youth development across Africa.

He disclosed that the Foundation had supported the establishment of more than 19 ICT demonstration laboratories in Ghana, The Gambia and Liberia, with plans underway for additional facilities in Tanzania and Zanzibar.

He said the Foundation’s Youth Model initiative was helping young people develop skills in science, technology, the arts and other disciplines while encouraging them to develop creative solutions to everyday challenges.

However, Rose noted that the existing laboratories serve only a fraction of the children and schools in the countries where they operate.

He therefore urged governments to embrace the model and mobilise resources to establish more facilities.

“Having seen the benefit of these labs, I strongly implore and urge the governments of these great countries to embrace the Youth Model concept and marshal the resources to fund more of these labs to serve a greater good,” Rose said.

Education Ministry backs expansion
The call comes as Ghana’s Ministry of Education signals its intention to explore ways of scaling up the Nyamransa Model ICT Laboratory nationwide.

Speaking on behalf of the Education Minister, Prof. George Oduro, Technical Adviser to the Minister of Education, described the Nyamransa facility as an example of what can be achieved when community commitment, technological innovation and teacher empowerment are brought together.

“Today, as we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Nyamransa Model ICT Lab, we honour a decade of breaking barriers, building confidence and proving what is possible when community commitment meets technological innovation,” he said.

Prof. Oduro said the facility had gone beyond providing computers to become a platform for educational and economic opportunity.

According to him, young people who have passed through the facility have acquired digital skills, explored robotics and developed solutions to real-world challenges.

He announced that the government would initiate dialogue towards developing a policy aimed at scaling up the Nyamransa model nationwide.

He said the Ministry would explore targeted funding for modern, solar-powered ICT facilities, digital tools and the integration of STEM and artificial intelligence learning models into underserved schools, particularly at the foundational level.

The objective, he said, was to ensure that the achievements recorded at Nyamransa over the past decade could benefit children across Ghana.

Liberia records growing impact
The Foundation’s work in Liberia was also highlighted at the anniversary celebration, with Moses O. Gbanaya, Secretary of the J.J. Roberts Education Foundation, presenting the impact of the partnership.

Gbanaya described the partnership between Liberia and the Helping Africa Foundation as “not an abstract partnership,” saying its impact could be measured through the growing number of young people benefiting from the Yama Russell Model Lab Liberia.

Established in July 2024, the laboratory was designed to expand access to technology, computer literacy, robotics, research, and community engagement.

According to the presentation, approximately 200 high school students accessed the laboratory in 2024. By 2025, the number had increased to 1,717 students.

During the same period, 213 students received computer skills training, while 45 students participated in robotics programmes. The laboratory also supported 1,683 university students, 65 teachers and 300 community members in 2025.

Gbanaya said the figures represented more than statistics, with each beneficiary representing a young person gaining confidence and practical skills in technology.

“Behind every number is a young Liberian discovering that he or she can code,” he said.

He said the programme was helping to change perceptions about technology by demonstrating that robotics, electronics and other emerging technologies were skills African children could learn, master and use to address African challenges.

The history of the Nyamransa project was also recalled during the celebration by Hon. Comfort Gabrah, Formal Assembly Member for Yamoransa Electoral Area and a daughter of the community.

She recounted how the initiative began through the efforts of local leaders and development partners.

The collaboration eventually resulted in the establishment of a series of ICT laboratories in Nyamransa, with the project eventually becoming known as the Nyamransa Lab.

Hon. Comfort also paid tribute to Dr. Deborah Rose, whose contribution to the community has earned her the traditional recognition of Development Queen.

She said the people of Nyamransa had continued to demonstrate their appreciation through an annual cultural ceremony and this year Dr. Rose will be recognised for her contribution to the community.

The next ceremony is scheduled for October 31 in Saltpond, and Hon. Comfort extended an invitation to supporters, partners and members of the public to participate.