KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY THE HON. MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATION, DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATIONS, HON. SAMUEL NARTEY GEORGE, AT THE ECOWAS REGIONAL HACKATHON 2026 AT 10AM 9TH JUNE 2026
Source: ministry_of_communications_ghana

WEDNESDAY , JUNE 17, 2026 KEYNOTE REMARKS DELIVERED BY HON. SAMUEL NARTEY GEORGE (MP) MINISTER OF COMMUNICATION, DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY , AND INNOVATIONS AT THE GOOGLE POLICY FORUM FOR GHANA, SCB BUILDING 87 INDEPENDENCE AVENUE GOOGLE OFFICES, ACCRA Mr. Charles Murito, Regional Director, Government Affairs and Public Policy, Sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East and North Africa – Google; Distinguished representatives of Google; Esteemed leaders from industry, academia, and Ghana's innovation community; Good morning. I. A STRATEGIC CONVENING Ghana does not attend forums of this kind to celebrate the past. We attend to define the future. This morning's convening is significant not merely because Google has chosen to gather us here, but because it reflects something more fundamental: a maturing strategic partnership between the Government of Ghana and one of the world's most consequential technology institutions — a partnership grounded not in goodwill alone, but in shared accountability for outcomes that matter to the Ghanaian people. Under the theme "Driving Digital Transformation in Ghana, Together, " the word together carries deliberate weight. It is a declaration of co - responsibility. Government sets the direction. Industry brings the scale. Together, we are accountable to the citizens whose lives this transformation must improve. II. THE GOVERNING FRAMEWORK: GHANA'S NATIONAL AI STRATEGY 2025–2035 Let me begin where all productive conversations about Ghana's digital future must begin: with our policy foundation. Earlier this year, the Government of Ghana launched the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy for 2025 to 2035 — our ten-year national roadmap for harnessing artificial intelligence as a driver of inclusive, technology - powered economic growth across every sector of our economy. This strategy is not aspirational language dressed in policy clothing. It is an operational blueprint, built on eight core pillars: expanding local digital infrastructure; deepening academic and research collaboration; establishing a robust data governance and protection framework; nurturing a homegrown AI ecosystem; building a skilled and adaptable digital workforce; ensuring ethical and responsible AI deployment; promoting AI adoption across key productive sectors; and positioning Ghana as a competitive node in the global digital economy. Our target is unambiguous: the addition of five hundred billion Ghanaian cedis to our GDP through the disciplined, strategic, and accountable deployment of artificial intelligence. Every initiative we discuss today — and every commitment made beyond this room — must be evaluated against that strategy. It is our governing framework. It is our non-negotiable North Star. III. DIGITAL WORKFORCE: THE ONE MILLION CODERS PROGRAMME AND GOOGLE CAREER CERTIFICATES A national AI strategy is only as powerful as the workforce equipped to execute it. This is why the partnership between the Ministry and Google on workforce development stands among the most consequential investments currently underway in Ghana's digital economy. This year, we opened applications for one hundred thousand Google Career Cer tificate Scholarships, distributed exclusively through the One Million Coders Programme — the Government of Ghana's flagship initiative to build one million digitally competent citizens by 2030. These scholarships are not soft -skills curricula. They deliver rigorous, industry-recognised training in the disciplines that define competitive advantage in the modern economy: Artificial Intelligence Essentials, Cybersecurity, Data Analytics, UX Design, and Project Management. The pathways are structured to be accessible to Ghanaians wherever they are — flexible in delivery, unrestricted by geography, and open to participants regardless of prior academic background. The deliberate decision to embed this scholarship programme within One Million Coders is itself a policy statement. We are not creating parallel pipelines; we are concentrating resources into a single, coherent national workforce development architecture. Scale requires discipline. Ghana's digital workforce ambition demands both. IV . DIGITAL INCLUSION AS NATIONAL POLICY: THE WAXAL LANGUAGE DATASET Workforce readiness is necessary. But it is not sufficient if the technology our workforce builds speaks to only a fraction of the citizens it is meant to serve. Ghana is a multilingual nation. A digital economy that functions primarily in English is a digital economy that excludes millions of Ghanaians from full participation. This Ministry will not preside over a digital transformation that leaves our communities behind by design. That is precisely why the launch of the WAXAL open-source African language dataset is a development of strategic national importance. This landmark initiative — built with critical and distinguished contributions from scholars at the University of Ghana — incorporates Akan, Ewe, Fante, Dagaare, and Dagbani into an open-source collection that enables developers to build AI applications that are genuinely inclusive: not merely globally functional, but locally resonant. I extend formal commendation to the University of Ghana for the scholarship that underpins this work. Their academic rigour is the foundation on which this initiative rests. The policy implication is clear: language is not a cultural nicety — it is infrastructure. When our AI systems speak our languages, we are not simply closing a technology gap; we are affirming that every Ghanaian community holds equal standing in our digital future. V . GEOSPATIAL INFRASTRUCTURE: GOOGLE STREET VIEW RETURNS TO GHANA Alongside our investments in human capital and linguistic inclusion, we are also advancing the geospatial data infrastructure that underpins intelligent national development. I am pleased to formally announce that Google Street View is returning to Ghana — the first major refresh of imagery in a decade. The vibrant streets of Accra and Kumasi, our breathtaking coastline, our UNESCO World Heritage Sites, our traditional Asante a rchitecture, and our historic coastal forts will once again be fully visible to the world at global scale. The benefits are tangible and multi -dimensional. For our tourism sector, a high-quality, navigable digital representation of Ghana's landscapes and landmarks constitutes a powerful promotional asset on the world stage. For urban planners and infrastructure managers, accurate, current geospatial imagery provides the real -time data required for sound development decisions. For local businesses, reliable geolocation infrastructure supports everything from logistics to customer discovery. And for our ministries and agencies, current street -level and aerial data enables evidence -based policymaking and real-time monitoring of national development priorities. Ghana has a story of extraordinary richness to tell. This refresh ensures that the world can see it, explore it, and experience it — and ensures that our own planners and policymakers have the data they need to develop it wisely. VI. THE GOVERNMENT'S COMMITMENT I will close with a clear statement of this Government's commitment — because clarity of intent matters as much as the initiatives we announce. The Ministry of Communication, Digital Technology, and Innovations is committed to enacting a progressive and enabling policy environment: one that supports interoperability, champions local innovation, enforces robust data protection for every Ghanaian, a nd creates the regulatory and infrastructural conditions in which technology companies, startups, research institutions, and civil society can collaborate and compete at the highest level. We are committed to the National AI Strategy not as a document, but as a governing discipline — a framework against which we will hold ourselves accountable, and against which we invite our partners to hold us accountable in equal measure. And we are committed to this partnership — not as a courtesy, but as a strategic necessity. Google brings global scale, technological depth, and a capacity for innovation that no government can replicate alone. What this Government brings is clear mandate, national direction, and the full weight of the Ghanaian public interest. Together, those are more than sufficient to secure Ghana's position as Africa's definitive digital pioneer. I thank you.