Ghana continues to face the challenge of creating meaningful economic and social opportunities for its young and rapidly growing population. Although the economy has expanded in recent years, this growth has not kept pace with the demand for productive and decent jobs, resulting in widespread underemployment and unstable working conditions, especially for young people. Income and tenure inequalities remain significant, and women still encounter barriers in access to work, including lower earnings and limited career progression. Start-ups and small enterprises drive much of Ghana’s economy, yet their growth is held back by low productivity, limited skills, and restricted access to finance within an increasingly competitive global market. Digital technologies offer new opportunities but also require adaptation, particularly as climate change increases risks in sectors such as agriculture. To help address these challenges, the Digital Transformation Center Ghana, established in 2020, supports the government and local digital ecosystems to develop inclusive digital solutions, strengthen innovation and technical skills, and expand access to the internet.
The Digital Transformation Center Ghana works with a broad spectrum of political, private-sector and civil-society partners. This ensures that the opportunities and risks of the digital transformation are equally addressed. This approach creates conditions not only for elites but also for wider sections of the Ghanaian population to benefit from digital innovations – especially women, young people and people with disabilities. To close the gender digital divide, the Digital Transformation Center Ghana follows a gender transformative approach, meaning that both men and women are engaged in promoting gender equality and changing current gender norms. The following projects are presented in the Digital Transformation Ghana:
The Digital Transformation Center, Ghana (DTC) aims to help the government and local digital ecosystems create inclusive digital opportunities that respond to the needs of a young, growing population strengthening skills, supporting small businesses, and reducing inequalities across the country.
To this end, digital skills trainings are offered to the relevant target groups of women, girls, youth, and people with disabilities in rural regions. The center advises political partners on the formulation of national policy programs and concepts, laws, regulations, and strategies for the digital economy and digital transformation in Ghana.
The bilateral project supports Ghanaian businesses, especially women-led informal micro-enterprises, to strengthen their economic situation through digital transformation. The approach aims to improve policy frameworks and foster collaboration for digital entrepreneurship, promote user-centered inclusive design and accessibility of digital services, and build digital entrepreneurship skills through coaching and mentoring.
FAIR Forward – Artificial Intelligence for All, is working towards a more open and sustainable application of AI that involves developing and emerging economies. In Ghana, FAIR Forward heavily supports in the shaping of policy frameworks by supporting the Ministry of Communication and Digitalization in the drafting of the Ghana National AI Strategy for example. Contributing to building local AI expertise is another focus area, an example is organizing AI Fellowship training programs for fresh graduates. With striving for access to AI technologies for local innovation in Ghana, FAIR Forward is championing the development of a local AI innovation to aid cashew farmers with early pest and disease detection on their farms.
As e-Commerce is becoming an increasingly important procurement and sales channel in emerging African economies, the prerequisites to participate in cross-border e-Commerce are not yet in place. There is a lack of safe and affordable electronic payment system, consumers’ and companies’ trust in e-Commerce, sigital capability of SMEs and supportive regulatory frameworks. Here the Pan-African e-Commerce Initaitive funded by BMZ and implemented by GIZ comes into play. Together with key partners, PeCI offers tailor-made trainings and coachings for SMEs in Ghana, Kenya and Rwanda, to integrate e-Commerce solutions into their business models.
To promote regional climate tech innovation networks launched the Global CATAL1.5°T initiative (pronounced ‘Catalyst’) funded by the International Green Climate Fund (GFC) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Corporation and Development (BMZ), the project focuses on catalyzing startups and young companies offering innovative and sustainable climate tech solutions.
The initiative also provides technical and financial support to local startups and young companies offering innovative products and services, business models that directly help us transition to net Zero by 2050. The Initiative invests in any venture that proposes a transformative climate solution in the fields of energy, food/agriculture and land use, transportation, building and industry and manufacturing fostering diversity, equity and inclusion.
Make-IT in Africa believes in the catalytic power of African innovation and digital technologies for green and inclusive development. In close collaboration with digital visionaries like start-ups, innovation enabler organizations and political partners Make-IT in Africa strengthens African innovation ecosystems and improves growth opportunities for African start-ups. Make-IT in Africa operates pan-African with regional offices in Ghana, Rwanda and Namibia.
The Gig Economy Initiative aims to foster favourable framework conditions for fair work in the Gig Economy at the level of workers, platforms and critical stakeholders from politics, business and civil society. Digital platforms contribute to the creation of employment and income by providing flexibility and lowering entry barriers. At the same time, the working conditions are often not fair. Work obtained in the gig economy is usually characterized by precariousness in employment, and lack of access to pay and working conditions associated with jobs in the formal economy.
This is where the Gig Economy initiative comes into play. The project achieves this by
1) enabling workers to know and understand their rights and skills development to acquire skills in demand.
2) providing evidence-based research and insights so that platforms can take measures for fair work.
3) supporting the aspirations through the development of agile regulatory frameworks.
In this interview series we get insights on how using digital tools improve the livelihood of a nurse, a hairdresser, a trader and a teacher.
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