Ghana ranks 6th in GSMA countries with Tech Hubs in Africa
Ghana is ranked 6th among eight leading African countries with more than 10 technology hubs on the continent, according to Mobile World Magazine based on the latest GSMA infographic report.
The report noted that South Africa topped the list as the leading country with 54 technology hubs followed by Egypt 28, Kenya 27, Morocco 21, Nigeria 23, Ghana 16, Tunisia 15 and Uganda 12.
It adds that Ghana’s efforts to lead the data space in the West African sub-region in recent times through the commitments of various governments have witnessed massive infrastructural developments to accommodate the ever growing demand for data in the country. Although the recent GSMA report comes as no surprise to industry stakeholders, they believe that more can be done to improve and also encourage the setting up of more data centres in every part of the country.
It said with the completion of the country’s Eastern Corridor Fibre Optic Backbone Infrastructure Project two years ago and the start of a new Western Corridor Fibre Optic Backbone, industry observers are optimistic about the springing up of more tech hubs in every region of the country.
The report pointed out that with 314 active tech hubs in 94 cities scattered across 42 countries on the African continent, only five countries including South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt and Morocco, have 50 per cent of all the tech hubs in Africa. While 49 per cent of tech hubs have partnerships with non-telecoms corporations such as Microsoft, Google and Ashoka, 13 per cent of these tech hubs have partnerships with mobile operators including Orange, MTN and Vodafone.
Tech hubs’s Facebook pages have more than 1.5 million followers, as well as 600,000 followers on Twitter, it also noted.
The current trend of fast growing tech hubs on a continent with over 1.3 billion people leaves no doubt in the minds of industry analysts that the future looks so bright for Africa’s vibrant digital landscape as more strategic investors seeks to take advantage of the opportunity to accelerate technological growth, it further adds.
By Pamela Ofori-Boateng