Govt to unify data sources

Government is to develop a data exchange hub, a centralised platform to unify all data sources to serve as the backbone of the country’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) drive, the Minister of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovation, Mr Samuel Nartey George, has disclosed.

According to him the development of the data exchange hub would not only help address the issue of data fragmentation across various institutions in the country, but would also help improve the economy.

The Minister disclosed this in a speech read on his behalf by the Director General of the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT, Dr Collins Yeboah-Afari, at the opening of the maiden Ghana AI Summit and Awards in Accra yesterday.

Dubbed the Ghana AI Summit and Awards 2025, the event was under the theme, “Harnessing Artificial Intelligence for Sustainable Development: Hype or Reality?” and is organised by Knowledge Innovations in collaboration with Deloitte Ghana.

It brought together decision-makers in the public, private, and non-profit sectors to discuss and explore AI-driven solutions tailored to Africa’s development needs.

The Minister explained that the development of the data exchange hub would help establish a strong foundation for AI-driven innovation across industries and enhance data accessibility.

He said government was focused on digitising at least 100 billion physical records and ensuring a structured, anonymised, and protected data that aligned with global data governance framework over the next four years.

In addition, Mr George said the government was developing home-grown AI language models that would be tailored within the African context.

“The goal is to create AI systems that understand and communicate in Ghana’s local languages, ensuring technology sets all citizens, not just those who speak English,” the Minister said.

He said the government was committed to making Ghana Africa’s leading hope for artificial intelligence by the end of its tenure.

For his part, the Country Managing Partner, Deloitte, Dr Daniel Kwadwo Owusu, said that his outfit was committed to the use of AI technologies to help clients navigate complex and difficult challenges of today’s economy.

He therefore urged the country to embrace the concept of AI and see it as a powerful tool that could help improve and transform her economy.

The Director of Knowledge Innovations and Chairman of the Summit, Dr Kwame Ahiabeuu, in his opening remarks, announced the creation of a Ghana AI Council to drive AI from both the public and private sector.