Under the auspices of the Office of the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana, and in collaboration with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in Ghana, the Ghana Digital Innovation Week (GDIW) is launched to build momentum and ignite innovative solutions towards a common vision for the country’s development.
The goal of the week-long programme from 22 – 26 November 2021, is to mobilise collective action and investment to catalyse growth in Ghana’s innovation ecosystem.
Digital innovations are transforming our lives in unconventional ways, shaping business models, increasing convenience with the tremendous potential to improve the quality of life for citizens. Ghana’s innovation ecosystem continues to grow over the last decade with a positioning as a leading frontier in digital transformation in Africa.
The impetus has been enormous, substantial and worth celebrating to further deepen the potentials in innovating solutions that address critical needs, and at the same time create economic opportunities for citizens. In line with the Trilateral Cooperation among Ghana, Germany and Israel, with local ecosystem partners initiated in 2019, the need for GDIW emerged to create synergies towards a more collaborative and inclusive ecosystem for Ghana’s innovation and development.
Characterised by a plethora of ecosystem-driven activities, GDIW welcomes initiatives by all stakeholders – government, private sector, academia and development partners home and abroad – to mobilise collective action, and incentivise ownership and investment. Behind digital innovations are innovators and ecosystem actors with a deep understanding of the local problems, dynamism and ingenuity championed by young people across the country taking ownership in creating solutions to pressing needs of our society.
Therefore, in the spirit of leaving no one behind and building back better, GDIW with a national character is intended to spark nationwide interest and interconnected actions, and showcase innovations across diverse sectors in all communities, districts and regions of Ghana. With unlimited potentials, we implore all ecosystem actors from far and near, home and abroad to organise, host and lead diverse, multi-stakeholder-driven initiatives that target different audiences and ecosystem segments throughout the week.
The official venue of GDIW is the Accra International Conference Centre with satellite centres at innovation hubs, parks, campuses, market squares, community centres to disseminate and reach all corners of the country. Through high-level plenary sessions, exhibitions, experiential learning, discoveries among others, the Week will spotlight below-the-radar innovations for scaling opportunities.
Together, we can achieve sustained development outcomes through our collective efforts and abilities with interconnected actions to shape Ghana’s development trajectory. The GDIW will infuse fresh perspectives, invigorate energy, reimagine possibilities and activate partnerships to build back better.
