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（作者：电子科技大学西非研究中心团队，执笔人：Priscilla Owusu-Ansah，翻译：宋和（西非研究中心助理）【西非漫谈】2021年第二十三期，总第四十八期。整理：孟雅琪，供稿：赵蜀蓉)

Priscilla Owusu-Ansah：THE TECNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT IN GHANA

1. INTRODUCTION

   From digital banking to e-commerce, technological advancements have transformed the terrain of life and business in Africa. The advancement of innovation and technology is raising the standard throughout the continent, particularly in the three major cities of Lagos, Nairobi, and Cape Town. For a region that was previously seen as mainly underdeveloped, the advent of a new crop of digital entrepreneurs throughout the continent has resulted in an explosion of software solutions addressing people's fundamental needs. The growing levels of mobile connectivity throughout the continent have had a significant impact on the expansion of this industry. Rapid smartphone adoption in big mobile phone markets such as Nigeria and Kenya transformed the continent's tech-savvy young, ushering in revolutions in a variety of industries. The effect of mobile Internet connectivity on the continent has been game changing. This has resulted in the expansion of e-commerce, finance, education, healthtech, and aggrotech throughout the continent. The sector's strong expansion has also resulted in an increase in fundraising activities for the majority of startups. In 2016, 146 African IT firms raised a total of US$129.1 million in investment. This showed a huge increase in the number of firms raising funds over the previous year[1]. South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya remained the top three investment locations, with Egypt and Ghana coming in second and third, respectively. It is obvious which nations are the most appealing to investors. Ghana has been the epicenter of technology manufacturing in Sub-Saharan Africa for the previous two decades. Ghana has advanced its technology to provide solutions via its information technology initiatives and sustainability training. Accra, one of the Republic of Ghana's major cities, has always been the first to find a new approach or instrument for technology and solutions. Ghana began the previous two decades with essentially no health, economic, or environmental institutions.

Training program session at Ghana Tech Lab source: https://ghanatechlab.medium.com/

1. HOW HAS TECHNOLOGY HELPED GHANA

Technology in BUSINESS

      Ghana has a diverse set of domestic ICT firms, many of which are small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs). A modest but thriving digital start-up sector is quickly being known, as one of Africa is most vibrant. KodeFusion GH, for example, has created Dumsor, a torch application named after a colloquial phrase for power outages. Kirusa, a US-based developer specializing in voice SMS-based mobile value-added services (MVAS), purchased Ghanaian start-up Saya, a provider of mobile messaging apps, for an unknown price in August 2014. Saya has been dubbed "WhatsApp for feature phones," and it provides a low-cost mobile messaging service to non-smartphones, featuring real-time texting and social network integration. It is especially popular in Ghana, Nigeria, and Kenya, all of which have rapidly developing mobile markets. Institutions such as the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre for Excellence in ICT and the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST), which was founded in 2008 and is supported by Microsoft and Amazon, among others, provide assistance to enterprises like these.[2]Every year, the university accepts 35 graduates from Nigeria and Ghana and teaches them intensely for two years, with the finest digital company ideas being supported by an incubation program. MEST graduates founded both Claim Sync and Saya. While there are creative businesses with strong talent bases, acquiring the requisite finance for development and access to larger projects may be difficult. "Financing is really difficult to get for IT firms," Eric Kwame Asah-Addo, CEO of Ghanaian IT company Bista Solutions Limited, told OBG. "When Ghanaian banks invest, they want to see the product in which they are investing." However, the IT industry is unable to supply this concrete product. Because most IT firms in Ghana are tiny, with little resources to develop, they are also excluded from foreign finance institutions' programs to boost IT efficiency in Ghana."

Technology in EDUCATION

Information and communication technology (ICT) is often regarded as a driving force behind the expansion of contemporary economies. Globally, the fast growth of technology has had an impact on all aspects of human existence, most notably agriculture, medical, education, communication, record keeping and administration, and so on. In order to embrace these global phenomena and enhance the capability of its human capital, Ghana made some solid investments and established laws in 2008 that assisted the nation in using technology for economic progress.   The establishment of remote education in Ghana by most state institutions in Ghana gives learning chances to rural people who would otherwise be prevented from enhancing their educational skills due to geographical distance to centers of education or a lack of financial means. Radio, television, and video are increasingly widely used in teaching in Ghana. There are now four public colleges that provide distant education programs. University of Cape Coast, University of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, and University of Education Winneba are among them. All four institutions have study centers throughout the majority of the country's 10 regions and certain district capitals. Computers have been purchased for the Study Centers so that both tutors and students may benefit from them in order to support better teaching and learning[3]. The expansion of ICT-enhanced distance education to rural regions has lessened the yearly issue of teachers and agricultural extension workers wishing to move from rural to urban areas in order to further their careers.

Technology in HEALTH  

In the recent decade, managing public health crises using digital and mobile technologies has advanced rapidly. The use of portable sequencing instruments to examine the genomes of Ebola virus from affected people is one example. This has aided in determining the order and direction of an epidemic. Opine and other real-time data systems have the ability to enhance monitoring and promote early reporting of additional public health issues. They may, for example, help with inquiries about a meningitis epidemic, an earthquake, a flood, or an urgent need for food or clean water. More components of mobile health programs might be productively incorporated into a post-pandemic healthcare service in Ghana and elsewhere. It may gather more electronic data and work with more community health centers and pharmacies. The Ghana Health Service and the Ministry of Health have extensive expertise utilizing mobile applications and mobile devices to enhance real-time data collecting for immunization and logistical management. COVID-19 contact tracing and vaccination delivery were carried out using mobile apps and devices. Telemedicine (remote consultations through video or phone conversations) will become more common as internet access and network quality increase. There are many alternative financing sources to consider. Donations from the global north may stimulate new applications of technology and gadgets in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, extreme vigilance is required. About 40% to 70% of gifts are ineffective because the technology does not work correctly or is unsuitable in the local environment, or workers are not educated in its usage. Any new technology's use must be guided by local context and acceptance. Country-led projects are more likely to succeed and last.

The Outlook of Technology in Ghana

Ghana's ICT industry has areas of excellence, such as international broadband connection, a flourishing tech start-up culture, and a reasonable rate of internet adoption increase. However, development is less consistent throughout the nation, between demographic groupings, and within small enterprises. The fact that many Ghanaians are still disconnected, that companies are not using technology, and that the government might implement more e-government and ICT initiatives is a cause of dissatisfaction. It also demonstrates the significant potential for the industry to develop and benefit the larger economy while increasing living standards. The government's prioritization of ICT, increased private investment in technologies like as LTE, and foreign backing should all serve as catalysts for the industry's sustained expansion. During the COVID-19 epidemic, technology in Ghana focuses on making optimal use of resources and accounting for costs and efforts. Throughout the outbreak, Ghana and its surrounding countries have stepped up to the plate to prevent further spread and handle cases so that individuals may return to work as soon as possible. Since March 2020, Ghana has reduced the cost of ventilators while lowering imports and maintaining existing manufacturing quality. The sooner the case numbers reduce, the sooner Accra's people and students may return to work on new technologies to support and build the area. During the COVID-19 period, Ghana's technology has only advanced, and it is now striving to assist the country free itself of the virus.

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