The government has set a target of achieving 70 per cent population coverage for 5G technology by the end of 2028, as it intensifies efforts to expand Ghana’s digital infrastructure and position technology as a major driver of economic growth, job creation and innovation.
Deputy Minister for Communications, Digital Technology and Innovations and Member of Parliament for Sissala West, Mohammed Adams Sukparu, announced the target at the 2026 National ICT Week celebration, held under the theme “Innovation at Scale: Creating Opportunities Across Ghana’s Digital Ecosystem.”
Mr. Sukparu said the government was pursuing a range of reforms designed to facilitate greater investment and competition in next-generation connectivity, while also reviewing the country’s spectrum policy.
He explained that the review was intended to ensure that spectrum, as a national resource, was managed in a manner that supported investment, wider network deployment and greater public value.
According to him, expanding access to advanced connectivity is a critical component of Ghana’s broader digital transformation agenda, particularly as businesses, government institutions and citizens increasingly depend on digital services.
Mr. Sukparu also highlighted progress under the government’s One Million Coders Programme, describing the initiative as one of its flagship investments in Ghana’s human capital.
The programme seeks to equip one million Ghanaians with practical digital and coding skills to enhance their prospects for employment and entrepreneurship while enabling them to participate meaningfully in the digital economy.
He said the nationwide rollout of the initiative was already generating considerable interest, with more than 12,000 course completions recorded within the early weeks of Phase Two.
The Deputy Minister said the progress demonstrated growing participation in the programme and reflected the government’s commitment to building a digitally skilled workforce capable of contributing to national development.
“These interventions demonstrate government’s commitment to developing a generation of Ghanaians with the skills and capabilities required to create, manage and apply digital technologies for national development,” he said.
Mr. Sukparu, however, stressed that skills development alone would not be sufficient to achieve Ghana’s digital ambitions.
He said human capital development must be complemented by investments in digital infrastructure, connectivity, effective regulation and strong institutions capable of supporting a rapidly evolving technology ecosystem.
The Deputy Minister said the Ministry of Communications, Digital Technology and Innovations was also advancing reforms to ensure that Ghana’s communications and digital regulatory framework remained responsive to technological developments.
The reforms, he said, would cover areas including communications, digital services, data governance and emerging technologies.
Mr. Sukparu explained that the government’s regulatory approach was aimed at creating the certainty necessary to encourage innovation and investment while safeguarding the public interest and strengthening confidence in Ghana’s digital environment.
He noted that as government services, businesses and economic activities became increasingly digital, effective regulation, cybersecurity and data protection had become essential components of national resilience.
Mr. Sukparu further emphasised the importance of developing government digital systems that could communicate with one another securely and efficiently.
He said common standards should guide the development of digital systems across the public sector to minimise duplication and improve efficiency.
Shared platforms, he added, would allow government to derive greater value from public investments in technology, while resilient digital infrastructure would be essential for the reliable delivery of public services.
The Ministry, he said, would continue to provide strategic policy and regulatory direction, with the National Information Technology Agency (NITA) playing a key role in translating that direction into regulatory guidelines, technical architecture, standards, shared infrastructure and implementation support.
“This partnership will be essential to building a coherent digital government ecosystem for Ghana,” he said.
Mr. Sukparu said Ghana’s digital transformation agenda must be anchored in trust, security and responsible innovation, particularly as the country expands its use of artificial intelligence and data-driven systems.
He said the Ministry would prioritise efforts to strengthen Ghana’s cybersecurity capabilities, improve institutional coordination, protect personal data and promote responsible use of digital technologies.
He cautioned that technological advancement must be accompanied by robust governance frameworks capable of protecting privacy, promoting accountability and maintaining public confidence.
“As we expand the use of artificial intelligence and data-driven systems, innovation must be accompanied by a strong governance framework that protects privacy, promotes accountability and maintains public confidence,” he said.
The Deputy Minister also called for stronger connections between research, innovation, industry and investment to enable Ghana to derive greater economic and social benefits from its technology ecosystem.
He noted that Ghana had universities, research institutions, technology companies and entrepreneurs with the capacity to develop innovative solutions to national challenges.
The challenge, he said, was to strengthen the pathway through which research could translate into innovation, innovation could develop into viable enterprises, and enterprises could contribute to job creation, productivity and economic growth.
Mr. Sukparu said the Ministry would therefore continue engaging industry, academia, innovators and technology communities to create an ecosystem that supported responsible experimentation, commercialisation and adoption of innovative solutions.
Meanwhile, the acting Director-General of NITA, Nana Yaw Amoah-Yeboah, said the agency is focused on ensuring that Ghana’s digital transformation is “integrated and sustained at scale.”
He said Ghana had already demonstrated its capacity to innovate but that the country’s next challenge is to transform innovation into practical solutions capable of creating opportunities and delivering measurable national value.
Nana Yaw Amoah-Yeboah, Ag. Director-General, NITA
According to him, this approach aligns with NITA’s mandate to support a coordinated, interoperable, secure and sustainable digital environment within the public sector.
Mr. Amoah-Yeboah said National ICT Week should go beyond celebrating technological achievements and serve as a platform for government, industry, academia, innovators, investors and development partners to exchange knowledge, establish partnerships and identify practical solutions to national challenges.
Mr. Amoah-Yeboah disclosed that more than 600 government institutions and assemblies have been onboarded onto the Smart Workplace platform.
He said the development demonstrated the potential of shared digital platforms to improve efficiency and reduce duplication within government.
NITA, he added, is also advancing the Ghana Electronic Document Wallet ecosystem, while engaging relevant stakeholders on trusted digital documents and credentials.
The agency is also working on a regulatory framework for data centre and cloud services, which Mr. Amoah-Yeboah said would help strengthen security, reliability and accountability within Ghana’s digital infrastructure.
He further highlighted the importance of Ghana.gov, saying NITA is committed to developing the platform into a more integrated gateway through which citizens could conveniently access government information and digital public services.
Looking ahead, the NITA Director-General said the agency would continue strengthening interoperability, cybersecurity, data security and system resilience while promoting the responsible adoption of emerging technologies.
These technologies, he noted, include artificial intelligence, cloud computing and advanced data analytics.
Mr. Amoah-Yeboah stressed, however, that digital transformation was ultimately about people.
He argued that investments in infrastructure and digital systems must be matched by investments in the skills and capabilities of the people responsible for building, managing and using those systems.
“The scale of Ghana’s digital ambitions requires a collective effort,” he said, calling on government, the private sector, academia and other stakeholders to work together to move ideas from innovation to implementation and ultimately to scale.
Both Mr. Sukparu and Mr. Amoah-Yeboah emphasised the importance of collaboration among stakeholders in achieving Ghana’s digital ambitions.
Mr. Sukparu urged participants at the National ICT Week celebration to use the platform to exchange ideas, build partnerships, examine emerging opportunities and identify practical solutions capable of advancing Ghana’s digital transformation.
He said the country must remain deliberate in strengthening its digital infrastructure, developing human capital, building capable institutions and creating a regulatory environment that encourages responsible innovation.
“Our ambition is to build a digital environment that is efficient, scalable, interoperable and innovative, and one that contributes meaningfully to national development,” he said.
Mr. Amoah-Yeboah similarly encouraged participants to make the National ICT Week a platform for learning, collaboration, innovation and action.
He expressed appreciation to the Ministry of Communications, Digital Technology and Innovations for its policy leadership and continued support, as well as the NITA board, partners and other stakeholders for their collaboration.
The 2026 National ICT Week comes at a time when Ghana is seeking to deepen the role of technology in economic development, public service delivery and employment creation.
The government’s digital agenda combines investments in connectivity and digital infrastructure with programmes aimed at developing a skilled workforce, strengthening cybersecurity, improving digital governance and creating a regulatory environment capable of supporting emerging technologies.
The 70 per cent 5G population coverage target by 2028, alongside the One Million Coders Programme, digital government initiatives and reforms in areas such as data governance and cloud services, forms part of that broader strategy.
Mr. Sukparu said the country must now consolidate the gains made and translate them into sustainable systems, stronger institutions, greater opportunities and measurable outcomes for Ghanaians.
He called on stakeholders to deepen collaboration, strengthen partnerships, share knowledge and identify practical opportunities to support the country’s digital transformation.
With the appropriate policies, infrastructure, institutions and trust and governance frameworks in place, he said, Ghana could harness technology as a powerful instrument for economic development, job creation, innovation and improved public-sector service delivery.
By 1960news.com
