ICT becomes Ghana’s fastest growing sector
In the past two decades, ICT has become one of the best-performing sectors in Ghana. The sector saw a growth of 19% between 2014 and 2020. Not only is this sector booming, it has rather engendered many small and big firms to do exceedingly well by increasing their dependence on it.
Ghana harbours big firms which use big data, artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies to be pioneers in their daily operations. The ICT sector in Ghana has successfully increased service competitiveness in the country and has successfully helped in attracting FDI. For Ghana, ICT has become the new driver for economic growth and development.
The contribution of ICT to the GDP of the country in 2020 was 3.3%. During the pandemic, while different sectors of the economy were facing downward spiral due to the COVID-19 lockdown, the ICT sector continued to grow. During the period, the country became online and digitally dependent. High speed internet became the ultimate need of the hour. As a result of this trend, the ICT sector experienced a tremendous growth of 23% during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Internet penetration in Ghana is high and therefore has a huge potential to become an ICT leader in Africa. The Government of Ghana appears to be cashing in on this golden opportunity to further open up the sector for more growth and participation.The creation of Accra Digital Center is in tune with the greater aspiration of the government to widen the value chain.
Interestingly, telecommunication is one of the key components of Ghana’s ICT sector. It contributes highly to the gross value of the ICT sector. As a result, the companies that deal with digital and telecommunication services have also grown at a rapid pace.
Roger A. Agana ( News Ghana)