Accra, 25 June 2007 – A two-day roundtable to review a study on ICTs, trade and economic growth in Ghana opened on Monday, 25 June 2007 in Accra.

The roundtable is aimed at reviewing a country study conducted by a team of local consultants in the framework of the ePolicy Resource Network (ePol-NET), as well as the ICTs, Trade and Economic Growth Initiative supported by the Canadian government.

Opening the roundtable, Dr. Benjamin Aggrey-Ntim, Deputy Minister of Communications said his government was committed to taking advantage of the ICT revolution. Establishing a favourable e-trade environment would enhance trade efficiency and facilitate the integration of Ghana and other African countries into the global economy, he added.

“The Ghanaian private sector which consists of small, medium and micro-sized enterprises and the informal sector are widely regarded as a potential engine of growth in the information economy with greater strategic importance for Ghana and the sub-region,” he said.

He noted that in order to fully benefit from the positive impacts of e-trade, it was important to create an appropriate enabling environment. He said the government had taken major steps in this regard which had resulted in an increase of the subscriber base for both fixed and mobile telephones.

Meanwhile, Ghana's Deputy Trade, Industry and Private Sector Development Minister Kwadwo Affram Asiedu, said the study should be able to answer questions such as the extent to which Ghanaian and African enterprises utilize the potential of ICTs to enhance their competitiveness in both domestic and international markets. It should also identify the key challenges for enterprises to realize this.

Afework Temtime of ECA's ICT, Science and Technology Division (ISTD) explained the genesis of the study, stating it was part of a series of national studies in six countries, being undertaken by ECA and the Government of Canada. He underlined ECA's support for Ghana in its ICT policy development process.

The consultants made presentations on key findings and recommendations of the country study. The study identified areas such as Business Process Outsourcing (BPOs) as well as outsourcing ICT services as key strategic areas to be developed further so as to exploit the full potential of ICTs for Ghana's economic growth. Some 30 participants are attending the roundtable, including the ICT private sector, government representatives, research and academic institutions, and members of the National ICT Committee.

For more information contact: Afework Temtime ( atemtime@uneca.org ).