“State Enchantment” hijacks 5G in Ghana - Bright Simons
Ghana's digital ecosystem week in review: Patoranking ALX scholarship, MoMo accounts hit 68million, Big techs influence on innovation in Ghana, AgriMercarb and Ecovon picked for the MassChallenge....
Digital Digest No. #111110.
Date: May 27 to June 2, 2024
Dear Friends,
Welcome to the middle of the year!🎉 Are those new year resolutions going strong? or you can explain?🌚
Here are the most important news, perspectives, analysis, and insights about the Ghanaian digital ecosystem from last week.
Digital governance
News updates
Is MTN’s Exclusion From Ghana’s Upcoming 5G Neutral Network a Play At Balancing Competition?
MTN Ghana back in 2022 expressed its readiness to launch a 5G network in Ghana with a planned pilot however, the National Communications Authority (NCA), did not grant the necessary licenses for MTN to proceed. Today, the Government of Ghana has created a 7 member consortium including Telecel and AT to deploy a shared 5G network across the nation. MTN Ghana is not included in the consortium! Is this Government’s move to promote competition or something else? Read on………….
see also “State Enchantment” hijacks 5G in Ghana by Bright Simons (an analysis and commentary on recent developments regarding Ghana's 5G spectrum licensing and rollout which excludes MTN)
Digital infrastructure and platforms
News updates
eCampus Launches Menstrual Hygiene Book On Its Digital App
eCampus founder and chief executive, Cecil Senna Nutakor has collaborated with author Rhoda Kadoa to create an interactive digital version of her book; “No More Suffering in Silence: An Illustrated Guide on Menstruation” in English, French, and Arabic for distribution on the eCampus app across its mobile and web platforms. This is to make easily available the necessary resources (including relevant information as contained in Rhoda’s No More Suffering in Silence) girls need to healthily manage their menstruation.
Telecel Ghana CEO wins ‘Telco CEO of the Year’ honour at 8th Ghana CEO Summit
For remarkably steering Telecel Ghana through a major transition, Ing. Patricia Obo-Nai has been awarded CEO of the Year in the telecommunications sector at the 8th Ghana CEO Summit and Expo. The CEO of the Year award honours individuals who exemplify exceptional business practices, achievements, and leadership qualities.
Digital finance
News updates
Registered mobile money accounts in Ghana hit 68.2 million
Registered mobile money accounts surged to 68.2 million in April this year. This represents a significant increase compared to the same period in 2023, which recorded 57.6 million. Since last year, figures from the Bank of Ghana’s Summary of Economic and Financial Data for May 2024 have shown a cumulative surge to date.
Op-ed
Ghana’s startup financing landscape reflects a blend of promise and impediments. While notable funding rounds underscore investor confidence in select sectors, overall access to capital remains constrained, hampering the scalability and sustainability of startups. According to Partech’s 2023 report, Africa experienced a notable 46% year-on-year decline in startup funding.
This op-ed explores what the financing landscape has been for Ghanaian start ups in 2023 and beyond.
Digital entrepreneurship
News updates
AgriMercarb and Ecovon picked for the MassChallenge Switzerland Accelerator.
103 early-stage startups from 37 countries spanning 5 continents have been selected for the MassChallenge Switzerland Accelerator. Amongst them are two Ghana-based companies, AgriMercarb ( an agritech which manufactures insect protein, fertilizer and energy using black soldier flies) and Ecovon,(producers of biodegradable building and packaging materials made from coconut waste and sugarcane bagasse). They’d engage with industry experts, corporates, and investors, while receiving world-class mentoring, tailored programming, free co-working space, amongst others over the next 4 months.
In this episode, TechLabari diagnoses the impact Big techs such as Google Ghana, YouTube and Facebok have had on innovation in Ghana with Emmanuel A. Gamor current Senior Manager at MTN Ghana, and ex YouTube and Facebook employee
Digital talents
News updates
Patoranking Foundation and ALX Africa Unveil $500,000 Tech Scholarship Initiative
The Patoranking foundation founded by Nigerian Musician Patrick Okorie aka Patoranking, has partnered with ALX Africa to rollout the $500,000 Patoranking Foundation Tech Scholarships. The six-month training program is open to promising tech-savvy youths from all over Africa aged between 18 and 34, who can choose to learn fully remotely or at any of ALX Africa’s hubs in Accra, Lagos, Casablanca, Addis Ababa, Nairobi, Kigali, Johannesburg, or Cairo.
At the launch of the Accounting Software Curriculum by the University of Ghana Business School, Kwabena Situ, Deloitte Assurance Partner called on tertiary and Senior High Schools to incorporate Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing, among other innovative digital tools, into their curriculum to train students with higher skill settings. “We should be thinking of setting up Artificial Intelligence centers in our various schools now. PRESEC has started one so if a secondary school has taken the initiative, what is happening to the universities?” He remarked
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