GHANA has the potential of becoming the technological hub of the West African sub-region

GHANA has the potential of becoming the technological hub of the West African sub-region, the General Manager of the African Information & Communications Technology Exhibition & Conference (AITEC), Mr Tim Gros, has disclosed.
That, he said, was because the country, as an emerging economy, was using its resources more efficiently than many developing countries to achieve faster growth in Information and Communications Technology (ICT).
Speaking at an AITEC press preview and workshop for the upcoming 2008 AITEC in Accra on Monday, Mr Gros said ICT had made significant contributions to the increasing productivity and competitiveness of the Ghanaian economy.
He pledged the commitment of AITEC to partner the government, particularly the Ministry of Communication, to make Ghana the focal destination of ICT in the sub-region.
He said the 12th edition of the exhibition, which comes off from November 26 to 28, 2008, would be on the theme, “Enabling Industry Through Information Technologies”, to reflect Ghana’s big push towards an e-based economy, with thousands of potential new ICT jobs being created in different areas of IT-related businesses.
He said the three-day event would be in two phases, with the first and second days concentrating on education and training in ICT, while the final day would focus on exhibition.
Mr Gros said the event would give exhibitors the opportunity to meet major players in the IT industry, reinforce their brand, demonstrate new products and benefit from new ideas in the ICT industry.
According to him, about 40 exhibitors were expected to showcase their services and products to the public which would attract delegates from across Africa.
Some of the exhibitors, he noted, included Internet service providers, web developers, banking technology solution providers, integrated system suppliers, outsourcing and inshoring service suppliers and the media.
The Chief Executive of IPMC, Mr Amar Deep S. Hari, noted that growth in the development of the ICT industry in Ghana was as a result of the increase in the number of ICT companies operating in the country.
He urged businesses to patronise the exhibition because AITEC came with an African branding, while the platform being provided by AITEC would be beneficial not only to businesses in Ghana but also other businesses within Africa.
He said the developed nations were looking seriously to Africa as an emerging market.
Mr Hari recommended that all ICT companies in the country should have a central business location to make their products and services easily accessible to consumers.
He explained that because most of the ICT companies in the country were scattered, customers found it difficult to easily access their products and services.