Chief of Staff charges industry players to reset Africa’s digital identity
Players in the digital technology industry have been encouraged to form partnerships and reset Africa's digital identity to establish a legacy of innovation for future generations.
Also, they should take advantage of opportunities the digital space provides to forge meaningful partnerships that will go beyond countries to impact the continent’s youth.
The Chief of Staff in the Office of the President, Julius Debrah, who made the call, stated: "Together, let's reset Africa's digital identity, secure our digital sovereignty and build a legacy of innovation for generations to come," he said.
Mr Debrah was speaking at the launch of the 10th Anniversary of Mobex Africa, a technology platform, in Accra last Thursday.
The Mobex Africa Partnership Day was on the theme: “The Vision for Africa’s Digital Future”.
Jobs
The Chief of Staff said the government’s digital development agenda was guided by a set of well-defined partnership training commitments outlined in the National Democratic Congress (NDC) manifesto, and that included completing the Eastern Corridor Fibre Optic Project by 2027, extending broadband access nationwide in collaboration with global providers, strengthening the Data Protection Commission by 2026, ensuring citizen data security through partnership with cyber security experts and civil society, launching National Digital Development Council by early 2026, creating a tri-sector forum for innovation policy involving government, industry, and academia, equipping 500,000 youth and women with digital skills by 2028, especially in AI, fintech and merging tech through sustained public-private collaboration.
“Collectively, these priorities will create an estimated 200,000 direct digital jobs by 2028, and position Ghana as West Africa's leading digital hub, contributing over $2 billion in annual digital exports,” he said.
Mr Debrah indicated that over the past decade, Mobex Africa had evolved into more than just a technology platform. It has become a convenient force for innovation.
Through partnerships, he said, it had connected thousands of young Africans to digital skills, brought innovators and investors together at key forums like the 2018 Mobex Africa Forum, and supported conversations that had shaped important policy breakthroughs such as mobile money interoperability.
Achievements
Those, he said, were notable achievements and deserved acknowledgement “not just as a milestone of an organisation but as makers of what is possible when we unite behind shared goals’’.
The Chief of Staff said the gathering opened a new chapter that aligned with the transformative research agenda of the NDC under the visionary leadership of President John Mahama, adding that the president’s reset agenda envisioned a Ghana where technology would power inclusive growth through strategic partnerships where its institutions were strengthened and where its digital future was shaped and owned by Ghanaians.
During his previous administration, Mr Debrah said President Mahama laid the foundation for a technology driven Ghana by expanding e-governance system and infrastructure, operationalising the National Data Centre and deepening rural connectivity all through effective public-private partnership.
“Now, barely seven months into the new mandate, we have launched a bold one million dollars programme, a nationwide initiative to train Ghanaians in coding, AI, cyber security, data analytics and other critical digital skills.
Implementation
The Minister of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovation, Sam George, said “This is the moment for a continental reset, a reset that moves us from consumers to creators, from digital dependence to digital determination, a reset that builds African-owned infrastructure”
He said the government was laying the foundations for Ghana to become the AI arm of West Africa.
Through strategic investments, international partnerships and a regulatory environment that's designed to support responsible AI, he said “we aim to be the launchpad for African-led AI innovation from agri-tech to fintech, from health tech to edtech, and this is our state in the future”.
Venture
The Executive Director, Software Development and Systems Integration, Margins Group ID Group, Andrew Asamoah, said Africa must build sovereign digital infrastructure; platforms and systems that were owned and governed locally, powered by African talent, and regulated by its own laws.
“Our data should not flow freely into opaque foreign jurisdictions.
Our artificial intelligence should reflect African languages, cultures and values, and our cyber security must be treated as a national priority,” he said.
The Chief Executive Officer of Mobex Africa, George Spencer Quaye, said his outfit was conceived with a simple but powerful purpose – to drive Africa’s digital transformation through innovation, collaboration and capacity building.
“Over the years, this platform has evolved into a convening power for visionaries, innovators, policymakers and investors, all united by a common goal: to unlock Africa’s potential through technology,” he said.
