37 Ghanaian tech firms registered to exhibit their products and services at the maiden edition of Infotech Fair which officially opened to the public on August 26, 2021 at the Accra Digital Centre.
The 2-day information and technology (IT) fair organised by the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), was intended to boost the position of Ghana in the African market by promoting local IT solutions for African businesses.
Addressing participants, the Deputy Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Ama Pomaa Boateng, said improvements and advancements in technology must strongly affect the services sector in an unparalleled manner to boost transparency and efficiency in business.
Through its digitalisation agenda, she said that the government is keen on supporting local firms providing technological solutions in manufacturing, communications, entertainment, education, fintech, agri-tech and medical laboratory technology.
According to her, Ghana cannot miss out on the numerous opportunities in IT as the services sector in industrialised economies contributes more than 70% of GDP by depending heavily on ICT.
She said government’s investment in priority areas include digital infrastructure and connectivity, digital skills, research and innovation, data protection, privacy and trust for digital networks and services, and legal regulatory and policy framework.
The CEO of Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), Dr. Afua Asabea Asare, said the services sector promotion is captured in Ghana’s National Export Development Strategy (NEDS), which is being spearheaded by GEPA to harness available resources for the export market in a bid to achieve a revenue of USD25.3 billion by the year 2029.
She said Infotech provides an ideal platform for networking and partnerships to prepare Ghana’s IT professionals for services export opportunities within the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Dr. Fareed Arthur, a Senior Technical Advisor and Coordinator at the National AfCFTA Coordination Office of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, said even though Ghanaian businesses have strong brands within the ECOWAS region, a national action plan for AfCFTA will be rolled out to focus on promoting Ghana across the entire continent.
