Tech in Ghana – A golden opportunity

I think the just ended Ghana Tech Summit (GTS) was the largest gathering of the tech community in Ghana. I met techpreneurs, tech enthusiast, developers, designers, people who were just curious, students, national service persons etc. Even those coders who hardly see the light of day came out of their caves to celebrate tech in Ghana. It was an awesome event and I like the fact that the GTS is a 12-year initiative. It takes time to build an ecosystem and that’s what the GTS aims to do. The 2-day event was heavily attended by an excited group of young Ghanaian entrepreneurs. It was very encouraging to see that.

We need Tech

Most of the time when the word ‘tech’ is mentioned people normally imagine robots, space, artificial intelligence, teleportation, even aliens. But the word tech is an abbreviation for the word technology which means

“the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially in industry.”

So something as simple as packaging food in a neat and durable container that keeps it warm rather than a polythene bag is an application of tech. Tech is practical, and because of that, it has penetrated every aspect of industries and lifestyles. I remember vividly how some 20 years ago we had communication centres everywhere in Ghana. People would run out of their houses to the communication centres just to receive a call.

Then the Ghana Telecom phone booths became popular. I remember long queues at these phone booths and people had to memorize phone numbers or jot the numbers down on pieces of paper just so they can make a call. Then came the mobile phones, which gave people the ability to make and receive calls locally and internationally at will. Who knows what is next. I could give countless illustrations of the evolution of tech in various industries, and how the people adapted their way of life to welcome these technological innovations.

We all need tech in our lives and that is why I believe that a lot of emphases should be given to it so that it can become a part of our culture as a nation. Internet penetration in Ghana is approximately 28%. Meaning only 8,257,487 of 29,491,028 according to Worldometres use the internet regularly. Developed countries average an internet penetration percentage of over 80%. Ghana is clearly lagging in this area and if nothing is done about it a lot of innovation may be stifled due to the market not being ready for it. Let’s make the internet accessible and affordable all over Ghana so that people can use it to innovate and solve the many problems that plague Africa.

Let’s teach tech

I was amazed when a university student I spoke with recently didn’t have an email address! I asked that student if he had a Facebook account. He smiled and said, “of course”. I was as confused as you are now. So even the small percentage that uses the internet don’t really know what to use it for apart from instant messaging applications. There are too many consumers in Ghana and very little producers of tech innovations.

Our world is changing, and in this fast-paced world, tech is inevitable. Ghana is adapting to tech but at a very slow pace. A conscious effort to teach tech in schools might go a long way to influence generations. Every major revolution that has happened in the world has always seen Africa lagging behind or being mere consumers. This time, I believe that things can change if we put the right structures in place with leadership that can see the relevance and value of tech in Ghana.

But I must say that we have come a long way. A lot of tech startups I see today would not have been possible some 3-5 years ago. That shows that the population is becoming more tech-savvy which is a good thing. I can foresee some great innovations springing out of Ghana in the near future that would help solve African and global problems. If you are a student reading this, then take time to improve your knowledge. There are a lot of free resources available online. Or you could take some of the courses that DesheGroup has to offer. I teach in a few of them so we could connect and talk more.

Ghana is truly on the rise and the opportunities to serve the people through tech is opening up even more. It’s an exciting time to be an entrepreneur in Ghana. With the right team, skill and management, I believe that great things can happen. Let’s do this!