The event is a collaboration between the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI), Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), and Ghana 60 Years On Planning Committee. 

Themed “African Innovation: Investing in Prosperity”, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is expected to deliver the keynote address at the Awards ceremony.

Ghana’s selection as the host country for IPA 2017 comes as a result of its commitment towards consolidating a thriving technology and innovation space.

Expressing appreciation to the organisers for selecting Ghana as the host country, Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) Professor Kwabena Frimpong Boateng said that Ghana is committed to building a knowledge economy and platforms such as IPA will encourage an innovative environment that is focused on creating solutions to African challenges. 

“As we celebrate the 60-year anniversary of our independence, we are looking forward and committed to putting innovation at the core of our national agenda, not only to meet Ghanaian and African challenges, but also to provide home-grown innovations that will become competitive globally,”h e stated.

“Ghana is open for business and brimming with an ecosystem of young talent that is already being tapped into. We thank the AIF for selecting Ghana to host the IPA 2017 event and use its platform to showcase Ghana’s innovative aspirations to the global community. 

Commenting on the selection, Jean-Claude Bastos de Morais, Founder, African Innovation Foundation, said, “Ghana has one of the most established National Innovative Systems (NIS) for Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) in the West Africa sub-region.

"During my recent meeting with President Akuffo-Addo, he highlighted the importance of ICT in achieving the country’s objective of diversified economic growth. Ghana’s corporate and business communities are also committed towards supporting efforts that raise the nation’s technology and innovation profile – and with good reason. By enabling entrepreneurs and innovators to test and scale new inventions and technologies, homegrown business solutions can help the country build resilience and secure its future prosperity,” he added.

The 2017 edition attracted more than 2530 respondents from 48 African countries.