Demand for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) experts are now more than ever. Developing a viable business concept in this area, followed by a design of a unique service strategy for your clients, could ultimately lead to business growth.

Launched in 2015, the ICT Transforming Education in Africa project, spearheaded by the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), fosters human and social development in African countries through the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for education.
The beneficiaries of the project are teachers and students, primary and secondary public schools, higher education institutions, policy-makers, educational administrators and leaders. It is part of the UNESCO-Korea Funds-in-Trust cooperation.
The first phase of the project was implemented in Mozambique, Rwanda and Zimbabwe from 2016 to 2019. The second phase of the project is being carried out in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Senegal from 2020 to 2023.

According to the Oxford Business Group, Ghana’s ICT sector has proven to be one of the country’s fastest-growing industries in recent years, with key market players offering more innovative products as data traffic surged amid the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Looking ahead, policy efforts are likely to bolster growth due to the strategic importance of ICT in digital and industrial development plans.
Information available shows that Ghana’s ICT sector has posted steady growth over the past decade, increasing its contribution to GDP from $900m, or 2.3% of the total, in 2014, to $1.7bn and 3.6%, respectively, in 2017. By 2020 its share had risen to 3.9%, according to the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS).

Following the lockdowns instituted in response to COVID-19 in 2020, the ICT sector was the fastest-growing subsector of the economy in early 2021, with year-on-year (y-o-y) growth of 22.1% and 20%, respectively, in the first and second quarters.
Ghana’s start-up ecosystem was reportedly ranked second in West Africa and seventh in Africa as a whole on StartupBlink’s 2021 Index, which measures activity levels, quality and the business environment of start-up ecosystems, having moved up four places globally since 2020.

The largest international tech firms have identified value in establishing a presence in Ghana. For example, Twitter has announced plans to establish its African base in the country, where it will seek local talent for roles. Google made a similar announcement, indicating its intention to set up its first African Artificial Intelligence Lab in Accra in 2019.

Ghana’s burgeoning start-up ecosystem attracted $111m in equity funding in 2020, up 102%, according to the Partech “2020 Africa Tech Venture Capital Report”. Financial technology (fintech), insurance technology and health technology together accounted for more than 95% of total funding, with the breakdown relatively balanced across the three categories.
Ghana attracted the third-greatest amount of fintech funding in Africa in 2020, for a total of $47m, behind Nigeria and South Africa but ahead of traditional digital heavyweights like Egypt and Kenya.

The country’s start-up ecosystem is supported by the Ghana Start-Up Capital Fund, the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT, 3 Day Startup and the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology.
The eTransform Ghana project, which was initiated by the Ghanaian government with support from the World Bank’s Digital Economy for Africa Initiative, aims to provide training, mentoring and access to online technologies in order to promote job creation, entrepreneurship, and opportunities in health and education services.

The $212m project supports digital entrepreneurship through three primary tech clusters – the Ghana Tech Lab and the Ghana Innovation Hub, both of which are located in Accra, and the Kumasi Business Incubator in Kumasi.
Since its launch in 2019, the project has trained 11,000 young people, incubated 49 start-ups, and supported 1200 businesses with access to workspace, mentoring and training.
So then, how do you fit in?
With the rise in the use of resources such as 5G internet connection and Artificial Intelligence(AI), the smart young African entrepreneur could be well-positioned to harness the benefits from the world of technology.
Various industries, such as agriculture and manufacturing, have gradually graduated from basic processes to complicated, ICT-powered systems that provide benefits on a large scale.

There is no turning back, so don't be left behind.

Sources:
https://www.unesco.org/en/digital-education/kfit-africa

https://oxfordbusinessgroup.com/reports/ghana/2022-report/economy/network-effect-public-and-private-sector-actors-work-to-position-the-country-as-a-digital-economy-leader-on-the-continent