Accra, May 12, GNA – Government is ready to partner with global Information Communication Technology (ICT) and local private sector organisations to encourage and engage local expertise for development.
Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, the Minister of Communications and Digitalisation, said
Ghana continued to be the preferred destination for many businesses, especially those in the technology space, due to the country’s adoption of digital innovations.
Mrs Owusu-Ekuful was speaking at the Huawei ICT Job Fair and the launch of the Huawei Leadership, Employability, Advancement, and Possibility (LEAP) ICT talent development initiative in Accra.
The two-year LEAP programme is expected to leapfrog Ghana into a bright digital future with 100,000 plus ICT talents by 2024.
She said it was a practical demonstration of the fact that there were crucial linkages between quality ICT education and job creation in this sector.
The Minister said the digital transformation agenda of the government was aimed at harnessing the power of technology to transform the economy.
It is also to ensure that everyone enjoys the benefits associated with digitalisation, leaving no one behind.
“This calls for motivating and inspiring our youth to embrace ICT education, equipping young people with the digital skills they need to thrive in the 21st century and employment creation through direct jobs and entrepreneurship,” she said.
Mrs Owusu-Ekuful said providing them with industry ready skills, tools that various companies needed in their daily operations, was part of the focus of the government’s digital transformation agenda.
She said this was all due to the government’s commitment to the sector and “I will do my best to ensure a sustainable industry growth and we will continue to engage with key industry players to develop and implement policies that will grow the industry.”
Mr Yang Chen, the Vice-President of Huawei Southern Africa Region, said Ghana was a country with huge economic potential and immense room for development.
He said as one of the most stable countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, the country had strong public institutions, sound infrastructure and sophisticated financial markets.
“The Ghanaian government is focused on improving the business environment to strengthen private sector participation,” he added.
He said the ICT industry played a vital role in lifting the national economy, with the highest growth rate of 33.1 per cent and as a global leading ICT company operating in Ghana, “we are happy to be travel together with their partners down the road of recovery and towards a Wealthy, Inclusive, Sustainable, Empowered and Resilient Ghana.”
He said the company had seen digitization in the region accelerating during the pandemic and ICT had become an indispensable part of people’s life, work, education, and entertainment.
“Digitization is deeply rooted in People,” the Vice-President said.
He said at Huawei, “we believe the most important investment is in People. Over the past two decades, Huawei has developed more than 80,000 people in the region; many of them devote themselves to the ICT industry.”
In Ghana, the partnership between the Ministry of Communications and Digitalization and Huawei has provided different levels of ICT training to 50, 000 women and girls in the country.
GNA