By Solomon Gumah, GNA
Tamale, March 14, GNA – HOPin Academy, an entrepreneurial training and innovation hub based in Tamale, has launched the Northern Ghana Artificial Intelligence (AI) Lab to promote research, innovation, and inclusive digital transformation in the northern part of the country.
The launch brought together representatives from the academia, civil society organizations, technology professionals, innovators, development partners, and traditional authorities.
Mr MacCarthy Mac-Gbathy, Co-founder of HOPin Academy, during the launch in Tamale, said the establishment of the Lab demonstrated the organisation’s commitment to investing in the digital transformation of communities across Northern Ghana.
He said the Lab would provide students, early career researchers, and innovators with the resources and skills needed to develop and deploy inclusive and sustainable AI solutions that respond to local socio-economic challenges.
“The establishment of this Lab is a testament to HOPin Academy’s commitment to continue investing in the digital transformation of communities across Northern Ghana,” he said.
Mr Mac-Gbathy indicated that HOPin Academy, founded in 2013 as a youth-led digital skills initiative, had supported more than 500 start-ups and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), while equipping over 10,000 young people with digital and entrepreneurial skills.
He said the organisation was committed to evolving into a leading technology and business innovation hub with operations across three regions in Northern Ghana.
Mr Mac-Gbathy added that the Academy would continue to champion youth innovation, entrepreneurship, and community development in the northern part of the country.
He hinted that the AI Lab was expected to serve as a research and innovation hub that would foster collaboration among academia, industry, government, and civil society, while conducting both foundational and applied AI research tailored to the region’s unique challenges.
These, he said, would include healthcare delivery, agriculture development, education, job creation, and economic inclusion.
He emphasised that the initiative would empower communities across Northern Ghana by providing equitable access to knowledge, tools, skills, and partnerships needed to co-create, deploy, and sustain responsible AI innovation.
“The Lab is also expected to position Northern Ghana as a national and regional hub for responsible and inclusive AI research and innovation,” Mr Mac-Gbathy said.
Ms Winnie Dzidonu, Senior Manager for Digital Channels and Product Innovation at MTN Ghana, emphasised the importance of ensuring fairness and inclusivity in AI development.
“AI should not deepen existing social and regional inequalities. We must ensure that AI deployment is guided by fairness and access. Ghana’s AI future should reflect resilience, innovation, and inclusion,” she said.
She urged the management of the Lab to leverage the initiative to promote regional equity in access to AI opportunities for economic growth.
Alhaji Ibrahim Tanko Amidu, Board Chair of HOPin Academy and Executive Director of the STAR-Ghana Foundation, commended the Academy for the initiative.
He said the establishment of the AI Lab would advance technological innovation and ensure that AI solutions were designed with the needs of communities in Northern Ghana in mind.
The initiative comes at a time when AI development and adoption in Ghana remained concentrated in the southern part of the country, widening the digital divide as Northern Ghana continues to face limited infrastructure, skills gaps, and innovational capacity.
The establishment of the Lab is therefore expected to help build a vibrant ecosystem where ethical AI solutions can drive inclusive growth and locally relevant development impact in Northern Ghana.
GNA
Edited by Eric K. Amoh/Linda Asante Agyei