Over 900,000 Citizens Trained in Oromia Region Under Ethio-Coders Initiative

Addis Ababa, December 11, 2025 (ENA)— The Oromia Science and Technology Authority has announced a significant milestone in the national push toward a Digital Ethiopia, confirming that over 900,000 citizens in the region have completed training under the transformative Ethio-Coders initiative.

Launched by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, the Ethio-Coders program aims to provide vital online coding and digital skills training to five million citizens nationwide.

This effort is a crucial component of the government's broader strategy to digitize public services and enhance the country's overall technological capacity. By offering alternatives to conventional technology education, the initiative makes essential digital skills accessible to a massive segment of the population.

Since the training began in Oromia, more than 900,000 residents have benefited, with many successfully leveraging their new skills to create employment opportunities within the technology sector.

Jima Tulu, Deputy Director General of the Oromia Science and Technology Authority, told the Ethiopian News Agency (ENA) that the Authority has collaborated extensively with stakeholders to ensure citizens maximize their participation in the Ethio-Coders training.

The goal of this training goes beyond making citizens digitally competitive; it equips them with the skills necessary to provide highly efficient services, Jima stated.

 

 

He added that the program is also creating an enabling environment for students to deepen their engagement with technology, while significantly expanding job prospects for the unemployed.

To successfully implement the program's targets, extensive preparatory work was undertaken, including awareness campaigns, establishing laboratories, supplying computers and necessary infrastructure, and setting up training centers across the region.

Jima noted that participants are diverse, ranging from government employees and business owners to students from primary, secondary schools, universities, and colleges across Oromia’s zones and cities.

The region had set a target to train 1.2 million citizens, and so far, 956,000 have completed the training.

Furthermore, many graduates are already securing employment by directly participating in the ongoing national ID registration process.

Jima affirmed that the Authority remains committed to achieving its Ethio-Coders goal for the current fiscal year.