The Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation (MoCD), in conjunction with the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology & Innovation (MESTI) and GIZ Ghana, has inaugurated the 2023 Ghana Digital Innovation Week.
This forms part of efforts to strengthen Ghana’s digital landscape and propel the nation’s growth in the digital economy.
The event, hosted in Accra under the theme: ‘Innovate, Collaborate, Elevate: Shaping a Future of Endless Potential’, is set to run for three days. It is dedicated to consolidating essential policy instruments to address prevailing market challenges.
The Deputy Minister for Communication and Digitalisation, Ms Ama Pomaa-Boateng, emphasised the government’s commitment to harnessing technology to transform the economy and highlighted the theme as a beacon guiding the collective journey towards a better future.
“The digital world is evolving at an unparalleled pace. We need to adapt, embrace and more importantly, lead this change,” she said.
She underscored the importance of collaboration, stating that in this rapidly evolving digital landscape, no entity, individual, or innovation stands alone, adding that the Ghana Digital Economy Policy, which has its focus areas centred on Digital Infrastructure, Data-driven Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Data Protection, User Privacy, Cybersecurity and Digital Literacy and Skills, is pending as it awaits approval from Cabinet.
The policy, according to her, aims for inclusivity and economic growth for all citizens.
The Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr Kwaku Afriyie, lauded Ghana’s progress in contributing to the gig economy and added that the revision of the National Science, Technology and Innovation Policy, aligned with frontier technologies and the digital economy.
He emphasised the need to strike a balance between the creation of new jobs and the extinction of old ones as well as the impacts of emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robots on job dynamics.
“With more to be done in terms of skills development, infrastructure and policy instruments, Ghana’s journey in digitalisation calls for collective contributions from all of us,” he stated.
The Ghana Digital Innovation Week emerges as a beacon of progress, aiming at shaping a future of infinite possibilities and inclusivity within the digital economy, marking a crucial stride in Ghana’s journey towards technological advancement and economic growth.
Richard Aniagyei, ISD
