Ghana Digital Innovation Week (GDIW) 2023 has been launched in Accra with a call on Ghanaians to fully participate in the activities lined up for the event scheduled to take at the Accra International Conference from 6-8 November.
The GDIW is a week set aside for a nationwide series of events aimed at showcasing and celebrating milestones in the country’s digital innovation ecosystem.
The week allows various actors to learn, share ideas and create networks to enhance and propel the growth and development of Ghana’s digital innovation sector.
Performing the launch on Wednesday August 30, 2023, the Israeli Ambassador to Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, Shlomit Sufa said: “It is like a dream coming true for the third time and hopefully for many years more”.
She noted that each year GDIW gets better and stronger, saying, “We believe that we will make a better contribution with the programme and with many different elements we will have during this year’s edition”.
“We are also very proud to be able to partner with such very strong partners such as Germany, GIZ, and Ghana to work together in synergy to support and develop the digital innovation ecosystem of Ghana,” she added.
Giving his reflections on the past events, a Council Member of Ghana Hubs Network, Dr Gordon Adomdza said: “This unique week focuses on celebrating and creating an ecosystem for traditional digital innovation in Ghana. We are happy to see this event continue to grow stronger”.
The Head of Operations at Accra Digital Centre, David Ofori said: “It is interesting that this is the third year of GDIW. It has started with three countries namely Germany, Ghana, and Israel. This year is poised to give us an exciting event”.
Mr Ofori, who also represents the National Enterprise and Innovation Programme (NEIP), said they had benefited a lot from this cooperation inspired by GDIW.
“This collaboration has brought to life what we called the ecosystem. Like the Hubs Network Council Member has mentioned, there are 66 members strong. But Ghana as a country has about 125 hubs. So, it tells you that the snowball effect it is having across all the regions in Ghana.
“This year being the third edition will catapult us to a different dimension”, Mr Ofori stated at the launch.
The theme of GDIW 2023-‘Innovate, Collaborate, Elevate: Shaping a Future of Endless Potential’ was also unveiled by the trilateral partners at the launch.
This year’s GDIW will begin with regional events in Tamale, Koforidua, and Kumasi, all in the Northern, Eastern and Ashanti regions.
The week-long series of events will climax with a high-profile conference to be graced by Ministers of State, diplomats, and business leaders, among others at the Accra International Conference from 6 – 8 November 2023.
The GDIW 2023 is expected to break the 2021 and 2022 record of over 6,000 attendees, 96 exhibitions, and 60 insightful sessions.
By involving participants from across the country, GDIW aims to promote discourse on enhancing digital literacy and adoption, particularly in remote areas, among others.
Instructively, the GDIW is co-created and co-owned by actors from the private sector, academia, policymakers, Development Partners, and Civil Society Organizations with support from the Digital Transformation Centre.
It is being implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
The GDIW is also held in collaboration with MASHAV, Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation through the Embassy of Israel in Ghana, the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, and the Ministry of Communication and Digitalization.
