Ghana is setting its sights high, aiming to become Africa’s premier digital trade hub, a goal underscored by Vice President Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang at the opening of the National ICT Week Celebration in Accra.
Speaking through government representatives, she reaffirmed the government’s unwavering commitment to harnessing innovation, robust policy, and strategic partnerships to shape the continent’s digital future.
Gathering under the theme, “Ghana as Africa’s Digital Trade Hub: Innovation, Policy, and Partnerships for the Future,” this year’s ICT Week brought together a vibrant mix of policymakers, entrepreneurs, industry leaders, and innovators. The event highlighted Ghana’s unique strengths: a stable democracy, trusted institutions, and a dynamic, growing economy, foundations that position the country at the forefront of Africa’s digital transformation.
Key to this vision are several flagship programmes driving Ghana’s digital agenda. Among them is the 24-Hour Economy Initiative, designed to boost productivity by enabling businesses and public institutions to operate around the clock. Another pillar, the One Million Coders Project, is equipping young Ghanaians with coding and software engineering skills to seize opportunities in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and beyond. The expansion of the national fibre-optic backbone is bridging the digital divide, bringing high-speed internet access to schools, hospitals, businesses, and homes nationwide.
The Ghana.Gov platform, a single portal for accessing government services like passport applications and tax filing, is cutting bureaucracy and enhancing transparency. Ghana also stands out as the only African nation with fully interoperable instant payment systems, a breakthrough that has fueled the growth of mobile money, e-commerce, and financial inclusion nationwide.
But as Prof. Opoku-Agyemang made clear, this digital vision cannot be realized by the government alone. She called for active collaboration among entrepreneurs, start-ups, telecoms, fintech firms, banks, investors, development partners, and the Ghanaian diaspora. Universities and vocational institutions, she said, must continue fostering innovation and equipping students with the skills needed to drive digital growth.
She also emphasized Ghana’s commitment to digital governance and trust, referencing the enforcement of the Data Protection Act and the country’s support for the AfCFTA’s Digital Trade Protocol—both vital for cybersecurity, data privacy, and harmonized trade regulations across Africa.
“Ghana is ready. We have a stable democracy, a dynamic economy, bold initiatives, and modern infrastructure in motion. Yet, the real measure of success will be determined by what we accomplish together,” she declared.
Concluding her remarks, the Vice President urged entrepreneurs to keep innovating, investors to seize opportunities in Ghana’s digital space, and development partners to back ventures that transform lives. Her final call was clear: Only by working collectively can Ghana become the undisputed digital trade hub of Africa.
Source: Apexnewsgh.com
