Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has announced plans by government to establish a technology and innovation park to spearhead Ghana’s agenda of ensuring inclusive and accelerated digital ecosystem.
This is in tandem with government’s vision of making Ghana a technology and innovation hub of West Africa.
To that end, he said, government dispatched a team to Israel, Rwanda, Germany, USA and other technology and digitally-advanced countries to learn their success stories and best practices to replicate same in Ghana.
Vice President Bawumia said this when he opened the maiden Ghana Digital Innovation Week in Accra on Monday, on the theme: “Mobilisingcollective action and investment to catalyse growth in Ghana’s innovation ecosystem”.
The five-day programme will provide a platform for policy-makers, investors, academia, students, and development partners to share their perspectives on Ghana’s digital innovation pathway and chart the way forward in advancing the economy.
They will take stock of the country’s digitisation journey and strengthen partnerships towards building a strong digital Ghana.
The Office of the Vice President, in collaboration with the German Development Co-operation (GIZ), organised the programme.
Vice President Bawumia visited the pavilions of some local technology companies that had exhibited their products and services at the venue.
“Government is committed to transforming Ghana through digitisation. Vibrant modern Ghana can only be built if strong institutions and ecosystems are in place,” he said.
“Without these, this nation will be stuck in a vicious cycle of rhetoric and under-development”.
The Vice President said the COVID-19 pandemic had distracted many economies worldwide, including Ghana, but one major lesson was that investing in innovative technology was necessary to rebuild a post-pandemic economy.
“There is no more important development revolution facing us now than the fast-approaching digitisation and leveraging on technology to develop our country,” he said.
“The opportunity to leverage on technology for accelerated and inclusive development has never been so tangible. This is the time to take a critical look at our innovation and digital transformation journey and speed up reflection and ambition into a shared vision.”
He urged all stakeholders to join forces by tapping into each other’s experiences and expertise, especially from pan-African countries, to build an efficient digital innovative ecosystem and inclusive development.
Dr Kwaku Owusu Afriyie, the Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, in his welcome remarks, called for innovative creativity to make a headway in the digital journey.
He said the Ministry was playing a coordinating role by linking other sector ministries’ activities towards achieving Government’s vision of “Ghana beyond Aid” using digital innovation tools.
The Ghana Digital Innovation Week will serve as a platform for stakeholders to discuss and define a common national vision that drives digital innovation.
It would generate wide interest for concrete action in areas of policy, legislation, regulatory spaces and the needed infrastructure for accelerated socio-economic development.
