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Beginning today, experts from across sectors and policy drivers in Accra will be focusing on how to reset Ghana around the digital economy for the benefit of over 32 million Ghanaians at the annual Ghana CEO Summit. The two-day event ends tomorrow, May 18, 2021.
Managing Partner, Chanzo Capital, Mr. Eric Osiakwan, is expected to offer expert insight around the topic: Digital Economy Agenda; Digital Economy Kings of Africa.
Osiakwan, an entrepreneur and investor with more than 17 years of ICT industry leadership across Africa and the world authored “The KINGS of Africa Digital Economy.”
His submission is that Kenya, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Ghana, and South Africa (KINGS) will lead Africa’s digital dominance in the 21st century economy just as the twentieth century saw the economic rise of Asia through the significant economic rise of the “Asian Tiger” countries.
Ghana’s Digital Transformation and post pandemic reset
Osiakwan leads the discussions on “Digital Transformation: Powering Business and Government Reset for a post pandemic Economic Resilience. A Public-Private Sector Dialogue.”
He will be joined in dissecting Ghana’s transition into a digital economy by panelists that include: Mr. Frank Oye, Executive Director, Margins Group; Mdm. Estelle Afofio-Sowah, CEO, Csquared W/A; Mdm. Angela Kyerematen-Jimoh, Regional Mgr-North, East & West Africa, IBM; Mdm. Patricia Obo-Nai, CEO, Vodafone Ghana; and Mr. Jonathan Tawiah, CEO, Ostec Ghana.
Others are Mr. Romeo Bugyei, CEO, IT Consortium.; Mr. Augustine Blay, Chief of Staff, Office of the Vice President; Hon. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Minister, Ministry of Comm. & Digitalisation; Mr. Connor Hanan, CEO, Software Group Africa; and Mr. Samuel Amanor, CEO, Bluespace Africa as the moderator.
Ghana’s new Digital Economy Act and Ministry of Digital Economy
Ghana recently introduced a Digital Economy Act and a Ministry of Digital Economy to coordinate digital policies.
For Osiakwan, “Now is the time for a ‘great reset’ of Ghana’s economy: business and government to a digitally resilient economy.”
Part of the expert’s insights submits that “the unprecedented disruption by COVID-19 is accelerating the pace and the urgency for digital transformation, agility and adaptability among companies of all shapes and sizes and the public sector is no exception. The pandemic has exposed the need to improve technology efficiency for the continuity of government and businesses, and is therefore a watershed moment for the digital transformation of business and government Digital transformation presents three opportunities for digitally enabled corporate leadership to power the Great Reset of our economy, businesses and society by: Transforming Business, Empowering Stakeholders and Changing Systems.
Impact of digital transformation
How will digital transformation revitalize Ghana’s business & economic
growth? What are the economic policies needed in line with the new global dynamics? What are these game-changing technologies? How are these technologies changing the face of business, government and society? Are we prepared for these changes? What technological, social and political shifts will shape the digital transformation of the economy: Government and Business?
On the Agenda: Growth rate and scale of artificial intelligence applications. Public policy changes in data and artificial intelligence.
The number of connected devices globally has soared to over 17 billion, and is projected to double by 2025. Since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, internet usage has risen by 70%, the use of communication apps has doubled, and some video streaming services have seen daily usage rise 20-fold. 45% of households globally do not have access to the internet, and only 19% have access in the least developed countries.
Another session on the Economy & Ease Of Doing Business will be looking at how to reset Ghana’s Economy through policy response & Strategies for building a resilient Economy Post-Covid pandemic.
Cover Image: President Akufo-Addo’s full speech at Ghana CEO Summit. Uploaded by: GhanaWeb TV, 21 May 2018
