Ghana Digital Innovation Fair honors Ecosystem Game Changers

The premier free edition of the GDIW featured over 20 exclusive conversations, plenaries, and presentations under the principle theme; Mobilising Collective Action and Investment to Catalyse Growth in Ghana's Digital Innovation Ecosystem.

The Ghana Digital Innovation Week was designed to bring together entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, university faculties, venture capitalists, as well as other technical service providers such as accountants, designers, contract manufacturers, and providers of skills training and professional development to provide a common platform for practical conversations on turning innovative ideas into useful reality to address societal problems.

The Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia was at the opening ceremony on Monday, 22nd November at the Grand Arena to commensurate the week-long event. As part of his speech, he commended the organizers for an “excellent collaborative work done”.

He mentioned that it was imperative that all stakeholders “talk to each other” as the nation strives towards achieving a digital economy fit for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. “This Ghana Digital Innovation Week will serve as a platform to discuss and define a common national vision that drives Ghana’s digital innovation agenda, generates wide interest, and prompts concrete actions in the policy, legislative, regulatory spaces and the needed infrastructure”
The subsequent days of the event witnessed a variety of stakeholders undertaking various discussions that touched on aspects of the digital ecosystem.

One of the most significant days; the closing ceremony saw the Ghana Innovation Ecosystem Game Changers (Gh-IEGC) Honors. It seeks to recognize ecosystem players who have made immense contributions towards the advancement of digital innovation in Ghana and their works have made a visible impact on an economic sector through the use of digital innovation or advancing the use of digital innovation.

Find below the honorees;

Zipline Ghana was honored with the Innovation Ecosystem Game Changer - Digital Inclusion (Financial Inclusion/PWD/Gender/Rural).
ASHESI D: Lab was honored with Ecosystem Game Changer- Academia-Industry Support Programme.

Regina Honu was honored with the Innovation Ecosystem Game Changer - Digital Literacy, Ghana Airports Company Limited was honored with Innovation Ecosystem Game Changer- Industrial Transformation.

Dr. Ernest Addison (Governor of the Bank of Ghana) was honored with Innovation Ecosystem Game Changer - Regulation and Governance.

Professor Elsie Effah Kaufmann (Associate Professor and founding Head of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Ghana) was honored with Innovation Ecosystem Game Changer - Advancement of STEM.

Jorge Appiah, Solar Taxi (Founder and CEO of SolarTaxi) was honored with Innovation Ecosystem Game Changer - Smart and Sustainable Society.
GhanaPostGPS (Digital Property Addressing System) was honored with Innovation Ecosystem Game Changer- Infrastructure Development.

MacCarthy Mac-Gbathy, Hopin Academy - Tamale (Co-founder and Executive Director) was honored with Innovation Ecosystem Game Changer- Startup Ecosystem Development.

Honorees shall be given, framed honor certificate, citation, and plaque/medal/trophy.

The maiden Ghana Innovation Fair is under the auspicious of the Vice President’s office with support from multi-stakeholders including the Ministry of Communications and Digitalization; the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation (MESTI) as well as the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoTI).

The Accra Digital Centre (ADC); the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP); the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Center of Excellence in ICT plus the Ghana Chamber of Technology are onboard as private sector stakeholders in addition to Ashesi University College and the University of Ghana.