Some key business leaders in the country have concluded that technology will drive the business environment in the next twenty years.<\/p>\n
According to them, the fast pace of the internet of things will compel businesses to be innovative in order to meet the dynamic needs of society.<\/p>\n
Legal Practitioner , Ace \u00a0Kojo Anan Ankomah; Patrick Awuah, founder of Ashesi University; CEO of Rancard, Kofi Dadzie, as well as CEO of mpedigree and Honorary Director at IMANI Ghana, Bright Simons all justified the relevance of technology in the\u00a0 future of Ghana\u2019s business.<\/p>\n
They were speaking at the maiden edition of Citi FM\u2019s Innovation Summit as part of the Citi Business Festival.<\/p>\n
Opening the discussion, the CEO of Rancard Solutions, Kofi Dadzie indicated that skills ought to be developed as Africa will have a windfall of a large skill set needed to solve societal needs.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe hard trends are based on the identifiable things in the future. The soft trends are the things that have to be developed to actually make them happen. One example of hard trends is that connectedness is increasing both among people and devices,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He pointed out that, the infrastructure, population growth and the skills needed are some of the means to address the hard trends.<\/p>\n
For his part, the Founder and President of Ashesi University, Patrick Awuah noted that there is a need for innovation to address challenges associated with rapid population growth.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is really hard to know what Ghana will look like in the next twenty years \u2026The population of Ghana will be approximately 40 million by 2035. Africa\u2019s population will be about 1.7 billion,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He warned that climate change will have ramifications for everyone on the planet and certainly for Africa.<\/p>\n
Mr. Awuah added, \u201cTechnology is changing rapidly and what is happening to tech today is that we are going beyond the age of information and entering the age of machines\u201d.<\/p>\n
Also, the CEO of mpedigree and Honorary Director at IMANI Ghana, Bright Simons asserted of a likely deformalization of the economy.<\/p>\n
Startling figures to back his argument were that; the number of graduates will increase to about 100,000 per year.<\/p>\n
He explained that the challenge lies in Ghana\u2019s weak human resource management systems to absorb the teeming numbers.<\/p>\n
\u201cExpect next year a graduate population of about 100,000. Masters\u2019 and doctoral enrolment are increasing by a combined 70 percent per annum over the last five years. More females are enrolling in post graduate programs in the sciences than male students,\u201d he observed.<\/p>\n
Making a prediction on Ghana\u2019s graduates, Mr. Simons stated that in five to ten years, everyone will have a degree.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne challenge that I perceive is that increasingly people will rely on providing goods and services than providing services in house,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Mr. Ankomah maintained that it is important to move away from traditional ways of providing legal services since it increases cost unnecessarily.<\/p>\n
\u201cCost has become a critical change factor. As legal expenses have become high, clients are beginning to drive and move towards technology. Technology has become a key and central part of the legal profession,\u201d\u00a0 he noted.<\/p>\n
Challenges to innovation in Ghana<\/strong><\/p>\n Speaking on some challenges to innovation in Ghana, Mr. Simons blamed Ghana\u2019s leadership culture for the under utilization of technology in the country.<\/p>\n According to him, it is imperative for leaders to embrace innovative ways of solving challenges to encourage others.<\/p>\n On his part, Mr. Ankomah also expressed grave concern at the apparent limited use of technology despite access to sophisticated devices.<\/p>\n \u201cThose who want to move forward will move very quickly. It is a mental thing that starts with the mind\u201d.<\/p>\n Solution<\/strong><\/p>\n Determining some solutions to the challenges, Mr. Awuah advocated a more activist approach from corporate Ghana.<\/p>\n Calling for collaborations among business, Mr. Simons also pointed out that the single most important drive to tech success is for businesses to network.<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n By: Pius Amihere Eduku\/Lawrence Segbefia\/citibusinessnews.com\/Ghana<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Some key business leaders in the country have concluded that technology will drive the business environment in the next twenty years. According to them, the fast pace of the internet of things will compel businesses to be innovative in order to meet the dynamic needs of society. Legal Practitioner , Ace \u00a0Kojo Anan Ankomah; Patrick […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":225331,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[32,171,11],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n