Ghana to become AI capital of West Africa – Sam George

The Minister for Communication, Digital Technology, and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George, has reaffirmed Ghana’s commitment to pioneering Africa’s digital transformation, calling for a “continental reset” anchored on innovation, partnerships, and inclusion.
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‎Delivering a keynote address at the 10th anniversary of Mobex Africa in Accra, he stated that the continent stands at a historic crossroads, where it can either lead the global technological revolution or be shaped by it.
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‎“This is the moment for a reset, a shift from digital dependence to digital determination, from consumption to creation. Africa must build infrastructure, regulate responsibly, and foster innovations that reflect the realities of its people”, he noted.
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‎He highlighted key national efforts, including:
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‎1. A $1 billion Ghana-UAE Tech and Innovation Hub in Dawa, set to host global giants like Google, Microsoft, and Apple, as well as homegrown talents.
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‎2. The One Million Coders Programme, targeting AI and machine learning training for one million youth in four years.
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‎3. Development of a National Data Exchange, a secure interoperable platform to ensure seamless, trusted public-private data sharing.
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‎Underscoring Ghana’s ambition to become “the AI capital of West Africa,” Sam George revealed that under President Mahama’s leadership, Ghana had convened a Ministerial AI Bootcamp, one of only two such exercises on the continent.
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‎“AI is not a future ambition, it is a present-day mandate. Every MDA must be AI-ready. Data is the new oil and, dare I say, the new gold. But it must be governed by trust, policy, and foresight,” he said.
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‎He also announced that 15 new legislations were being prepared for Parliament by year-end to align Ghana’s ICT laws with the rapid evolution of global technology. These reforms aim to make Ghana’s regulatory environment agile, adaptive, and innovation-friendly.
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‎Mr George used the occasion to call on entrepreneurs, regulators, academia, and civil society to align their actions, not just their rhetoric.
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‎“Let us build African infrastructure, not just towers but platforms. Let us invest in innovation not as charity, but as strategy. Let us define Africa’s digital destiny—not by default, but by design.”
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‎The Minister congratulated the Mobex Africa team for a decade of digital leadership and charged them to continue building an ecosystem where “technology works for Africa and not the other way around.”