Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia on Thursday night joined officials of the Bank of Ghana to celebrate the winners of the first e-Cedi Hackathon, in Accra.
The competition was designed to bring together the brightest minds in technology and finance to explore the endless possibilities of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).
Ghana is one of the three countries in Africa currently piloting a CBDC.
Dr. Bawumia speaking at the event was particularly excited at the prospects of harnessing the power of technology to address our developmental problems and leveraging the technological infrastructure put in place in the last few years.
He explained, “Since the launch of the e-Cedi hackathon, I have followed subsequent developments with keen interest, and we are all here to witness the climax, during which a select group of participants will be recognised for their creative prowess in the form of innovative solutions based on CBDC solution tools”.
According to the Vice President, over the past few years, the government has made a lot of investment in a curated set of national infrastructure that has laid a solid foundation for the digital transformation of the Ghanaian economy for inclusive economic development.
“These include the National Identification and Digital Address Systems, e-government services, National Payments, and Digital Financial Services platforms, the backbone of which is the robust broadband infrastructure. These interventions have brought tremendous improvements to the various sectors of Ghanaian society” he stated.
Dr. Bawumia continues that indeed, the government has shown leadership in digitalisation by implementing key initiatives to transform the government machinery for efficiency, depending largely on local talents.
He said the flagship Ghana.gov platform, a product of collaboration among Ghanaian FinTechs, enables citizens to access diverse government services online, including tax filing, business registration, and passport applications, adding that “We have seen tremendous benefits from this initiative including improved processes and easy access to services, improved compliance, efficiency, and transparency”.
He added that similar improvements have also been recorded in national health insurance renewals, licensing applications, and renewals where digital technologies have been implemented.
These achievements, he said have strengthened the government’s resolve to, as much as possible, use local talents in the national digitalisation drive.
“Based on the evidence, we are so far convinced that we can accelerate the development of our country and improve the welfare of many Ghanaians if digital solutions are widely adopted. Hence, the government’s national digitalisation agenda seeks to foster the adoption of digital technology in every sector and across the country in furtherance of that objective” Dr Bawumia added.
In this regard, the government, in 2022 embarked on a project to further improve broadband access to create the necessary conditions for nationwide efficient and quality digital services thereby stimulating a vibrant digital innovation ecosystem.
“It is expected that solution developers and innovators will take advantage of the government’s massive investment in core infrastructure for a digital economy to come up with solutions that address the myriad needs of the country”, the Vice President noted.
He added that he has been informed that the innovations of the ten (10) finalists globally cover diverse sectors of the Ghanaian economy and different use cases of the e-Cedi.
He, therefore congratulated the participants for their familiarity with the challenges of the Ghanaian economy as attested by their brilliant and informed solutions which are to be awarded today.
“However, do not be discouraged if you fail to win any award. Being among the ten (10) finalists is enough proof of the quality of your innovation and capabilities. Be proud of your credentials as a graduate of the maiden Bank of Ghana hackathon and go out there for greater exploits. Continue to nourish the bonds established during the project. Share experiences, tap into your mutual strengths and partner to build solutions that make a difference in the lives of people in the country, particularly the less privileged” the Vice President added.
-BY Daniel Bampoe
