Government says it has created over 57,000 job opportunities through its flagship 1D1F program.

This was disclosed by the Trade and Industry Minister, Alan Kyerematen at the Nation Building Updates in Accra on Thursday.

Speaking on the theme “Industrialising Ghana; One District at a Time,' the Minister noted that “the 1D1F has so far created 18,811 direct jobs through the 162 1D1F companies fully in operation.

"38,532 additional direct jobs are projected through these companies with 120,520 indirect jobs and 247,383 projected additional indirect jobs”.

According to him, the number of jobs that have been created so far through the initiative is likely to go up as government is providing more supports to business entities to be set up across all districts in the country.

The 1D1F policy is a private sector-led initiative that marks a decisive shift towards industry, with the idea of generating jobs in all parts of the country and securing more value from Ghana’s raw materials.

The initiative is to ensure more sustainable food supply and create jobs for the jobless while helping small-scale entrepreneurs to advance their traditional processing of food and other items across the country.

However, providing updates on the number of factories that have been established so far, Mr Kyerematen said in all, 232 out of 260 are currently at various stages of completion with some operating at full capacity.

He said the factories cut across various sectors depending on the scope of operation.

The Minister noted that 162 of the factories operate as new factories whereas the remaining 64 operate as revived or expanded factories.