GSMA report envisages digital transformation in Ghana
The government and stakeholders of the mobile industry have begun an initiative to harness the power of the mobile telephony to deliver life-enhancing services and support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s).
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A release issued in Accra yesterday by the GSMA, a grouping of global mobile telephony industry stakesholders, said the various stakeholders in the mobile industry held a high-level roundtable meeting with the government, during which the GSMA launched a report in partnership with the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), to examine the transformative opportunities presented by mobile-enabled digital services in the country.
The meeting, held in partnership with DFID, the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), discussed how Ghana could advance digital and economic inclusion through mobile.
Participants signed a communiqué committing to maximise opportunities for the mobile industry to support the UN SDGs in different areas, including agriculture, gender equality, financial service access, innovation and entrepreneurship.
“Mobile offers the most widespread and inclusive means of accessing the internet and digital technologies which are vital to the Ghanaian economy and its growth in an increasingly connected world,” the Head of Sub-Saharan Africa, GSMA, Mr Akinwale Goodluck, said.
He added that, “Mobile is the key to unlocking digital transformation and I am very excited about future potential and to see our member operators building on the good work already started through the dialogue they have undertaken today.”
For his part, the Head of DFID Ghana and Liberia, Mr Philip Smith, said, “DFID recognises that out of all communication tools, mobile technology is the first to reach across geographies, income levels and cultures. For this reason, we see mobile technology as vital for sustainable development across a wide range of government sectors and departments. DFID is proud to be supporting this collaboration with our partners from the GSMA and UNDP, and look forward to supporting the outcomes of the National Dialogue.”
The UNDP Ghana Country Director, Mr Dominic Sam, also observed that, “Few other technologies have grown so fast and have had so much to offer in terms of new ways of delivering services, stimulating businesses, enabling citizens to have their voices heard and countries to leapfrog development models to achieve their goals. The UNDP is very pleased to partner with the GSMA and UK Government in this dialogue to design solutions and explore opportunities to do this faster and more sustainably in Ghana.”
Report findings
The report highlighted how the mobile industry and the government could work together to support social and economic progress in the country. Ghana is already proactively supporting the SDGs and has incorporated them into the country’s national development agenda with progress overseen by the President.
It said the government’s commitment to the SDGs reflected the fact that Ghana was a fast-growing economy and had made progress on many fronts, although development challenges and gaps in access to basic services persist.
“Given the large number of people who have access to mobile phones, the report further noted that the mobile platforms are uniquely placed to support the SDGs,” it said.
The report added: “The industry has connected 67 per cent of the population in Ghana; nearly half the population has mobile internet access, with penetration in Ghana now the second highest in West Africa. Further, mobile has connected eight million individuals to financial services, supported farmers and provided access to health information, clean energy and more, underscoring the vital role mobile technology can play in supporting sustainable development in the country.”
However, the report also notes that despite this progress, significant challenges remain, many of which require collaboration between the public and private sectors. For example, there is a gender gap in Ghana of approximately 16 per cent in mobile phone ownership and 17 per cent in the use of mobile money services, with an even higher gap (56 per cent) in the use of the internet, with 2.5 million fewer women online than men.