Digitalise or lose competitive advantage - Dr Bawumia urges countries
The Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has said countries that do not digitalise will lose the competitive advantage in the face of the emerging global architecture.
He said once the current global economic crisis was over, it would expose countries which had prepared to compete and those that did not.
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Dr Bawumia, who was speaking at the launch of the MTN Global Connect Customer Success Centre in Accra last Wednesday, said: “If you do not ensure that you digitalise, you would not be prepared to compete”.
According to the Vice-President, there would be a realignment of global supply chains and more countries and continents would be more self-reliant in that respect.
Global economy
That, he explained, was happening against the background of a transformation of the global economy towards the fourth industrial revolution which was underpinned by digitalisation, which was driving data and the systems.
Through digitalisation, he said, Ghana had been building the systems that would prepare it to fully participate in the fourth industrial revolution and those he mentioned, among others, included a system for unique identification of the population.
He said the government appreciated the bold step taken by MTN and would endeavour to support its operations, adding that “other investors must consider Ghana as their preferred business destination on the continent.
Global Connect
Global Connect is a digital wholesale and infrastructure services company and an operating company within the MTN group.
The Deputy Minister of Communications and Digitalisation, Ama Pomaa Boateng, said the ministry had over the last few years worked to lay the foundation for the ICT sector to become a credible cornerstone of Ghana’s economy as well as a global force to reckon with.
She said it was critical for the country to have a cyber space that attracted the likes of MTN Global Connect, and gave the assurance that the ministry would continue to push for expansion and access to telecommunications services in the country.
The Deputy Communications Minister said the ability to compete at the global level required a rich pool of human resource with ICT skills, hence the investment in equipping a number of young girls in ICT with the support of MTN.
Investment
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MTN Ghana, Selorm Adadevoh, said due to the MTN’s significant investments in its network infrastructure over the years, it was confident that Global Connect would be a game changer for its stakeholders who were seeking the edge needed in the current digital world, including Ghana.
He said the launch of Global Connect in the country was a remarkable feat for MTN Ghana, particularly as it sat at the heart of its strategy to make connectivity possible and accessible and enabled the entire ecosystem to drive growth and progress for Ghana and the sub region at large.
“A few years ago, MTN launched ambition 2025 and restated its focus on Africa with action, and today it represents one of those initiatives that continues to advance our belief in the markets in Ghana, particularly, and also in the environment by building and continuing to invest strategically in this markets and we hope and believe these will encourage others to follow suit,” Mr Adadevoh said.