Central Bank Governor, Dr Ernest Addison, has said his outfit has invested and will continue to make investments aimed at addressing some of the weaknesses which were inherited with regards to data integrity.
He said that back in 2016, commercial banks misreported their true financial standings which led to failure and a subsequent collapse of banks and Specialized Deposit Taking Institutions.
Dr Ernest Addison also shared that a new Suptech tech, known as the Online Regulatory Analytic Surveillance System (ORASS) has been developed and completed this year to support operations.
Speaking at the eCedi Hackathon Awards Dinner, the Central Bank governor said, “The ORASS is a major reform using technology to enhance our oversight of the financial system and we are the first African Central Bank to develop such a system. We have had Central Banks come from South Africa, Egypt, Barbados, Zambia and Solomon Islands to learn from us.
“Our staff have worked with our technology partners to develop tools that support the entire supervisory cycle from licensing to resolution,” he added.
The BoG governor said the Central Bank has also been working to deepen the digitization drive in the economy, including the development of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).
Dr Addison, however, pointed that although 2023 has been challenging, it has also been a fulfilling one.
“We are confident about the economic outlook and expect to see significant improvement in the operating environment for businesses in 2024,” he shared.
Touching on the eCedi Hackathon, Dr Addison said the Central Bank first received some 88 applications from students, programmers, FinTechs, bankers, engineers, and FinTech enthusiasts.
This figure, he said, was however scaled down to 66 applicants and later trimmed down to 10 finalists who underwent rigorous scrutiny from the judges.
At the end of the awards night, Forward Titans was adjudged winners of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) maiden Cedi hackathon at a ceremony in Accra. The group walked away with a digital cash prize of GH¢500,000.
The first runner up, Nokofio, received GH¢300,000 in digital cash, while the second runner up, Pay code, received GH¢200,000 for their effort.
The e-Cedi hackathon kicked off on October 6, 2023 under the supervision of the BoG and its technology partner EMTECH Solutions.
The competition brought together creators, developers and entrepreneurs to share ground-breaking solutions through leveraging the e-Cedi.
The hackathon’s focus areas provided insight into functionalities and versatility that the Bank of Ghana envisions for the e-Cedi.
MA/AE
Source: www.ghanaweb.com
