By: Francis Edzorna Mensah
The just-ended three-day Ghana Digital & Innovation Week (GDIW) 2024 has recorded historic participation since its inception, breaking the 2021, 2022 and 2023 records.
The GDIW 2024, being the fourth edition, attracted a total of 4,520 participants against a little over 3,000 participants in 2023. The major event climaxed the nationwide celebration of Ghana’s digital innovation ecosystem, bringing innovators, policymakers, and stakeholders together to drive digital transformation and sustainable development across the country.
The high-profile conference held at the Accra International Conference from 2nd to 4th October 2024 also attracted 47 exhibitors and more than 40 insightful sessions.
Commenting on the feat to the media at the closing ceremony, Michael Abbiw, the CEO of MGA Consulting Ghana Limited, a leading management consultancy firm and the lead organiser of the GDIW 2023 and 2024, expressed his excitement over the number of attendees for the fourth edition of GDIW.
“This year, we aimed at exceeding the numbers and surely, we were able to do that over 4,520 people passed through the just ended three-day event, and we are grateful”, he said.
He further reflected on the journey of organizing such an impactful event, saying, “It’s been an exciting process bringing together so many individuals and innovations in these digital spaces. What keeps us motivated is the incredible outcomes we continue to witness as we showcase digital innovation in Ghana”, he said.
The Director of Innovation at the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP), David Ofori, describes GDIW 2024 as amazing, exciting, engaging, and collaborative.
He added that “More importantly, the people we want GDIW to benefit are in the room. Before, we started with those who are making policies, rules, and all of that. Now, we have those who should benefit from the policies and rules, which are young people, start-ups, innovators, and entrepreneurs. That is the whole idea of GDIW: creating a platform to amply the work of the people who matter”.
According to him, the impact of GDIW on the younger generation is much commendable. This he said will help shape the future of digital innovation in the coming years.
“The future of GDIW is incredibly promising. The seeds that were sown over the last few decades are now bearing fruit. We’re seeing the rise of start-ups across sectors like agritech, edutech, and fintech. In fact, Ghana has become one of the most mature fintech hubs in the world, which positions us to lead in the global digital innovation space.”
Yaw Adu-Gyamfi, Chairman of the Ghana Hubs Network, expressed his delight at the overwhelming response to the event, noting, “The event has far exceeded our expectations. The number of registrations has been well beyond what we anticipated.”
He emphasized the significance of the regional initiative, ‘Road to GDIW,’ stating, “This is particularly important to us at the Ghana Hubs Network, as we have 75 hubs spread across all 16 regions of Ghana. Since last year, our primary focus has been on enabling these hubs to leverage their resources, solutions, and technical expertise to support development at the local level.”
Adu-Gyamfi further explained that their strategic direction aims to reposition the hubs to have a greater impact within local communities, regions, and districts. “The more we collaborate with local stakeholders, whether from the private sector, academic institutions, or government agencies, the more effectively we can tackle pressing challenges. Our hubs excel at bridging skill gaps and developing solutions that address key development issues.”
Looking ahead to GDIW 2024, he shared their vision for expansion: “We want to broaden our reach. Initially, we started with three regions, then expanded to six. Now, our goal is to double that and cover 12 regions. If resources allow, we hope to extend to all 16 regions, but our priority is to grow organically, ensuring sustainable progress as we move forward.”
Therefore, GDIW becomes that platform which drives local-level development and create more opportunities for young people. We can create more jobs to empower more entrepreneurs who will come out with more market creative innovations that drive development, he emphasized.
The CEO of Impact Investing Ghana, Madam Ama Lartey, speaking in anticipation of GDIW 2025, highlighted that next year’s event is set to be even bigger, better, and more impactful.
“We’re expecting a larger turnout at the Accra International Conference Centre, with increased opportunities for networking and collaboration. But GDIW 2025 won’t just be a single event. Between now and then, we will host a series of events and interaction centered around key actions we want to drive forward; such as creating digital jobs for the youth, using digital technology to solve real-world problems, building our innovation ecosystem, and shifting the mindsets of Ghanaians to foster greater innovation.”
She also emphasized the importance of regional events leading up to GDIW 2025, stressing their desire to involve more partners along the way. Madam Lartey urged corporate organizations and international development partners to join the exciting and impactful journey that is GDIW, assuring that the 2025 edition will be even more transformative, with increased funding, partnerships, and tangible results.
At the conclusion of GDIW 2024, several key partners, collaborators, and sponsors were honored with certificates in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the success of the event.
GDIW 2024
The GDIW 2024 is on the theme, “Innovate Together: Collaborating for Digital Transformation and Impact”. It is hosted by a consortium of the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program (NEIP), Ghana Hubs Network (GHN), and Impact Investing Ghana (IIGh).
Other key partners of the GDIW 2024 are Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), MASHAV, Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation through the Embassy of Israel in Ghana, the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation (MESTI), and the Ministry of Communication and Digitalization (MoCD), International Trade Centre (ITC), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Chamber of Technology, Ashesi University, and the University of Ghana.
