President launches Ghana’s National AI Strategy, announces $250m AI Computing Centre

President John Dramani Mahama on Friday launched Ghana’s National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy, with plans to invest $250 million to establish a world-class AI Computing Centre.

The strategy, which covers the period 2025 to 2035, is aimed at positioning Ghana as a leading AI hub in West Africa and across the African continent.

President Mahama described the launch as a significant milestone in the country’s journey towards a digitally empowered, innovation-driven and globally competitive Ghana.

“It’s also a statement of intent that Ghana will not be just a passive consumer of technologies shaping the future, but that we’re going to be an active participant in designing, governing and deploying them for our national transformation,” he said.

“Not too long ago conversations about artificial intelligence were dominated by fear. Many spoke of its dangers, its disruptions and its potential to diminish the human role in society and work.”

He noted, however, that the global conversation had since evolved, with nations increasingly embracing the concept of using AI for development and social good.

President Mahama said AI could not thrive without strong infrastructure, stressing that data, computing power, connectivity and energy were now as strategic to the digital age as roads, ports, railways and power plants were to earlier phases of development.

He said the Government was therefore strengthening the national data centre and ensuring that the country’s digital backbone was secure, resilient and capable of supporting the growing demands of AI systems.

“We are building deliberately, because infrastructure is the foundation upon which innovation rests,” he added.

The President announced major financial commitments towards the AI agenda, including a $250 million investment to establish a world-class AI Computing Centre.

In addition, he said the Government would commit $20 million to support the short- to medium-term implementation of the National AI Strategy.

He described the investments as bold but necessary, noting that the proposed AI Computing Centre would serve as a nerve centre for research, innovation and enterprise, enabling Ghanaian talent to develop solutions for both the domestic and wider African markets.

President Mahama said the Government recognised that it could not, on its own, build a thriving AI ecosystem, stressing the need for strong partnerships among the State, academia, civil society, industry and development partners.

He noted that the strategy itself was the product of broad collaboration, with contributions from the Ministry of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovation, the United Kingdom High Commission, GIZ, the United Nations system, the Responsible AI Lab at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, and other industry stakeholders.

The President outlined a vision in which AI would be embedded across the educational system, universities would lead in frontier research, Ghanaian innovators would scale globally, and vulnerable groups, including persons with disabilities and the informal sector, would not be excluded from technological progress.

He also emphasised the importance of gender responsiveness in the deployment of AI and the transformation of the civil and public service through AI-enabled systems.

President Mahama said the Curriculum Review Committee of the Ministry of Education, which was reviewing the basic school curriculum, had been tasked to complete its work by the end of June this year.

He said AI, coding, robotics and electronics would be introduced at the basic level to prepare Ghanaian children for the digital future.

“This is the Ghana we seek to build,” he said.

Mr Sam Nartey George, Minister of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovation, who interacted with an AI system named Aku during the event, said the Ministry would drive AI integration into public sector operations to ensure that the civil service becomes more data-driven and efficient.

Source: GNA