UNESCO OER Grants: A Practical Boost for AI Skills in Ghana

Ghana’s SMEs don’t fail because they lack ideas. Many fail because knowledge is expensive—training fees, imported course content, and the time it takes to learn new tools while still running payroll.

That’s why the first UNESCO-UNEVOC Global OER Grant Programme matters more than it might look at first glance. A grant programme focused on Open Educational Resources (OER) isn’t “just education news.” It’s a real opportunity to build AI and digital skills with materials that can be shared, localized, and updated—without paying per student, per license, or per semester.

This post connects the UNESCO-UNEVOC OER grant idea to a practical question in our series “Sɛnea AI Reboa Adwumakuo Ketewa (SMEs) Wɔ Ghana”: How do we get AI knowledge into the hands of small teams who actually need it—sales people, accountants, store managers, administrators—not only computer science students?

What the UNESCO-UNEVOC Global OER Grant Programme signals

The big signal is simple: global institutions are putting money behind reusable learning content, not only one-off workshops.

OER (Open Educational Resources) are learning materials—modules, lesson plans, videos, quizzes, datasets, templates—that are designed to be openly shared and adapted. A grant programme around OER encourages schools, training centres, and partners to create content that others can improve and reuse.

For Ghana, that matters because the fastest way to scale AI and digital education is not to run 50 separate trainings. It’s to create a repeatable curriculum that can be taught in Accra, Kumasi, Tamale, Ho, and online—then translated, simplified, and adjusted for local needs.

Why OER fits Ghana’s real learning constraints

Here’s the reality I’ve seen with SME teams: learning must be short, practical, and immediately useful.

OER makes that possible because materials can be:

• Modular: 20-minute lessons that fit between customer calls
• Localized: examples using Ghanaian businesses (retail, logistics, agriculture, services)
• Low-bandwidth friendly: downloadable PDFs, audio lessons, offline activities
• Continuously improved: trainers update lessons when tools change

If a grant supports institutions to build these resources, the payoff isn’t one cohort. It’s thousands.

The OER-to-AI pipeline: how open content turns into SME productivity

The practical connection is this: AI adoption in SMEs is mostly a training problem, not a tool problem. Many AI tools are already accessible (some are free, many are low-cost). What’s missing is the workflow knowledge.

OER can fill that gap by teaching job-based AI, not abstract theory.

What “AI for SMEs” should look like (and usually doesn’t)

Most AI courses start with big topics—machine learning history, model types, math concepts. SMEs don’t need that first.

A useful OER curriculum for Ghanaian SMEs should start with tasks like:

1. Writing and rewriting business messages (customer replies, proposals, follow-ups)
2. Sales support (product descriptions, WhatsApp broadcast drafts, FAQs)
3. Basic accounting support (invoice narration, expense categorization drafts)
4. Operations (stock list formatting, staff schedules, simple SOPs)
5. Learning and compliance (HR onboarding checklists, safety reminders)

Those tasks align perfectly with our topic series: AI betumi aboa SMEs wɔ Ghana ama wɔatwerɛw adwumadie ho nsɛm, adwumadie nkitahodie, ne adwumadie ho akontaabu—without needing a large team.

A simple example: one OER module that pays for itself

Consider a small trading business with 3 staff:

• One person handles customer messages
• One manages stock and invoices
• One does procurement and supplier follow-up

A well-made OER lesson titled “AI for Customer Replies in WhatsApp and Email” could teach:

• A safe prompt structure (context → tone → constraints → output format)
• A “do-not-share” checklist for sensitive info
• Templates for common issues (delivery delays, refunds, price questions)
• A quality check routine (accuracy, politeness, promises you can’t keep)

If that module reduces message drafting time by even 15 minutes per day, that’s 5 hours per month reclaimed for sales or operations. Multiply that across thousands of SMEs and you’re talking about national productivity.

Where Ghana can plug in: TVET, universities, hubs, and SMEs

The smartest approach is to treat the UNESCO-UNEVOC OER grant idea as a collaboration map, not a standalone project.

TVET and training institutions: the natural distribution engine

UNEVOC is strongly associated with technical and vocational education and training ecosystems. In Ghana, TVET institutions and skills programmes are already positioned to deliver practical learning.

If local institutions build OER modules for AI and digital skills, they can:

• train graduates for modern jobs
• support local businesses with short courses
• create “train-the-trainer” packages so content scales

And because it’s OER, materials can be reused across centres without renegotiating licensing every time.

Innovation hubs and community programmes: speed and relevance

Hubs are often faster than formal systems. They can prototype OER quickly:

• a 2-hour “AI for Shop Owners” class
• an SME-friendly workbook in simple English
• Twi/Ga/Ewe audio explainers for key concepts

Then training institutions can formalize and expand the best versions.

SMEs themselves: don’t wait to be “included”

If you run an SME, you don’t have to wait until a national curriculum appears. You can contribute to what good OER looks like by offering:

• real scenarios (customer complaints, procurement emails, invoice descriptions)
• feedback on what staff actually understand
• participation in pilot trainings

Open education works when the end users shape it.

What to build with an OER grant: 5 practical resource ideas for Ghana

A grant programme is only as useful as the outputs. If you’re advising a school, hub, NGO, or training group, these are OER ideas that directly support Ghana’s SME economy.

1) AI prompts and templates for SME admin work

Create an OER pack of Ghana-focused prompt templates for:

• quotations and invoices wording
• customer service replies
• supplier negotiation messages
• simple HR letters (leave approvals, warnings, onboarding)

Keep it practical: templates + examples + common mistakes.

2) A short “AI safety and privacy” module for small teams

This is non-negotiable. SMEs often paste sensitive data into tools without thinking.

An OER safety module should teach:

• what counts as sensitive data (IDs, bank details, customer lists)
• how to anonymize inputs
• when not to use AI
• a simple policy SMEs can adopt in one page

A good AI policy for SMEs is short enough to print and clear enough to enforce.

3) Digital literacy bridge lessons (before AI)

Some staff need basics first:

• file management on phone/laptop
• email etiquette n- Google Sheets fundamentals
• how to verify information

If the OER assumes everyone is already comfortable with digital tools, adoption will stall.

4) “AI for bookkeeping support” with spreadsheets

Don’t promise magic accounting. Teach realistic support:

• consistent transaction descriptions
• categorization suggestions (with human review)
• generating weekly summaries
• spotting missing receipts

Tie it to tools people already use, especially spreadsheets.

5) Micro-credentials that employers and SMEs respect

OER content becomes far more valuable when paired with assessment.

A good design:

• 6–10 short modules
• an applied test (rewrite messages, build a stock tracker, draft an SOP)
• a certificate that signals practical competence

“People also ask” questions (answered plainly)

Is OER the same as free content on YouTube?

No. OER is designed for reuse and adaptation, often with clearer learning outcomes, lesson plans, and permission to modify. Random free videos don’t always allow that.

Can OER really help AI education when tools change so fast?

Yes—because OER can be updated quickly. The right approach is to teach workflows and thinking patterns (prompting structure, verification habits, privacy rules), then refresh tool-specific examples quarterly.

What’s the fastest way for an SME to benefit from OER-based AI training?

Start with one workflow that hurts daily operations—customer messages, invoices, or stock updates. Train two staff, document the process, and measure time saved for 2–4 weeks.

A Ghana-first plan: how to turn grants into results within 90 days

If an institution or consortium in Ghana taps into an OER grant programme, the first 90 days should be aggressively practical.

Day 1–30: pick use cases and build the minimum curriculum

• Choose 3 SME workflows (customer service, sales content, basic recordkeeping)
• Draft 6 short lessons (20–30 minutes each)
• Create a one-page AI safety checklist

Day 31–60: pilot with real SMEs

• Train 20–50 SME staff across different sectors
• Collect “before/after” samples (message quality, time taken)
• Fix what confuses learners

Day 61–90: publish, translate, and train trainers

• Package modules into downloadable formats
• Translate summaries into at least one local language where feasible
• Run a trainer workshop so delivery scales

This approach respects time, budgets, and attention spans—the real constraints.

Where this fits in our SME AI series (and what you can do next)

The UNESCO-UNEVOC Global OER grant programme is a reminder that AI capacity isn’t only about buying software. It’s about building shared learning assets that make AI skills normal—especially for small businesses.

If you’re part of a school, NGO, hub, or district programme, aim your next proposal at a simple outcome: OER modules that help SMEs write, communicate, and track money better using AI. That’s the heart of this series.

If you run an SME, the next step is even simpler: pick one task your team repeats daily and standardize it with an AI-assisted template. When enough SMEs do that, Ghana’s AI story stops being hype and starts looking like productivity.

What would change in your business if every staff member could produce clearer customer replies, cleaner records, and faster reports—without hiring extra hands?