The Founder and Group Chief Executive Officer of Computer Warehouse Group, Mr Austin Kwesi Okere, has called for increased public spending on information and communication technology (ICT) to enable the sector to make meaningful contributions to the business community and the lives of the people in general.
The government, he said, could do that by motivating ICT and related businesses to come up with products and services such as online shops and other softwares that would provide a convenient platform for businesses to interact with customers worldwide.
Mr Okere gave the advice at the launch of the 10th anniversary of Computer Warehouse Group Ghana Limited in Accra.
The Ghana unit of the group was founded in 2003, then as a retailer and wholesaler of computer gadgets but later moved into software creation and trading, as well as solution provision for interested businesses in its operational area.
That diversification, the founder and group CEO explained, was to help meet the growing needs of its business clientele in ICT and related products and services in the country.
“We realised at a point that our clients and businesses in general were no longer just interested in only buying computers and other gadgets but also in getting quality ICT solutions that will help their businesses to grow,” he said.
Throwing more light on what Ghana could do to enable it to benefit from the enormous potential that ICT offers, the group CEO said the government needed to pay higher attention to the ICT sector, especially when it came to spending.
“We need to invest in what will take us to the other ladder of the ICT world. Why can’t we create a place where virtual shops and products can thrive? Why can’t we help set up our own Amazon, where businesses in the country, Africa and, of course worldwide can trade on so that people can buy and sell products online?” Mr Okere asked.
On the way forward for the group, which currently operates in Ghana, Uganda, Cameroun and Nigeria, the founder said Computer Warehouse would continue to grow its clientele base, product and service line, as well as penetrate other markets in the continent.
Such moves, he said, formed part of the company's growth strategy and vision of entrenching its position as a Pan-African Computer Company that served as a one-stop shop for ICT products and services.
Its country Manager, Mrs Harriet Yartey, also thanked the company's business partners in the country and pledged to continue exceeding their expectations in the coming years.