With digitisation continuing to take the forefront in efforts to promote economic growth, the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has said government is seeking to construct a ‘Technology and Innovation Park’ as part of the vision to make Ghana a ‘tech hub’ in the West African sub-region.
To this end, he disclosed, government has being engaging partners while also exploring countries which have taken the lead in technology and innovation, including Israel, Rwanda among others. He therefore urged all global players to be part of this technology park that government is seeking to build.
Dr. Bawumia, while acknowledging the devastation caused by the pandemic to global economies, said to rebuild a post-pandemic economy there is an urgent need to invest in innovative technology to hurdle obstacles to inclusive development.
“The opportunities to leverage technology for accelerated and inclusive development has never been so timely. This is the time to take a critical look at our innovations and digital transformation journey,” he said.
It is to achieve this inclusive and accelerated development that he called on all stakeholders to work together in order to grow Ghana and Africa’s innovation and ecosystem, by tapping into the experience, expertise and networks of all countries.
The Vice President, who was speaking at the opening of the maiden edition of ‘Ghana Digital Innovation Week’, added that doing this will offer a wealth of lessons as well as help the country to build an effective, collaborative innovation ecosystem.
According to Dr. Bawumia, the Ghana Digital Innovation Week is the product of trilateral cooperation between the governments of Ghana, Israel and Germany, which began last year. “Hand in hand with our partners, we shall continue to nurture our local innovation ecosystem and establish connections with ecosystems abroad,” he added.
Also, Dr. Bawumia said there is ample evidence to back the position that the difference between countries which grow and those that do not, countries that are rich and those that are poor, is innovation and technology.
It is against this background that he said government, for the past five years, has been pursuing a digital transformation agenda. It is to strengthen this agenda that the platform has been created to achieve an innovative ecosystem. He challenged all the participants and stakeholders to use the occasion for reimagining Ghana’s digital future.
It is hoped that the Ghana Digital Innovation Week will serve as a platform to discuss and define a common national vision that drives digital innovation, generates wide interest and prompt concrete actions in the policy, legislative and regulatory landscape, and the needed infrastructure.
Furthermore, Dr. Bawumia said the opportunity created should also be used to highlight the country’s achievements in the digital innovation ecosystem, and lead the conversation on how best Ghana can position itself to drive its development agenda through inclusive and collaborative stakeholder participation in the ecosystem.
The week-long maiden edition of the Ghana Digital Innovation Week is being held under the theme ‘Mobilising collective action and investment to catalyse growth in Ghana’s digital innovation ecosystem’.
The Managing Director of Kigali Innovative Cities, Linda Tesi Rusagara – who was the keynote speaker for the opening ceremony, observed that commitment to creating the Ghana Digital Innovative Week to connect and engage with innovators proves that start-ups are an essential driver of Africa’s growth.
The German Ambassador to Ghana, Daniel Krull, while indicating the German government’s readiness to collaborate with Ghana, also noted that the opportunity provided is important in shaping the future of Ghana’s digital economy.
The Israeli Ambassador to Ghana, Shlomit Sufa, also said Israel is more than willing to contribute to Ghana realising its digital transformation agenda.
