Ghana has signed a $1 billion agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to build a state-of-the-art technology and innovation hub in Ningo-Prampram, a district near Accra.
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by Ghana’s Minister of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George, and Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Chairman of Dubai’s Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation (PCFC).
According to Minister George, this deal is the result of three months of strategic discussions and will establish a platform for major global tech firms to set up their African headquarters in Ghana.
The Ghana-UAE Innovations and Technology Hub aims to attract companies such as Microsoft, Oracle, Meta, IBM, and Alphabet. Over 11,000 firms under the PCFC umbrella could potentially invest in the hub.
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The project’s first phase will span 25 square kilometres and be entirely funded by the UAE, while Ghana provides the land. The hub will support sectors like AI engineering, business and knowledge process outsourcing (BPO/KPO), and data generation for machine learning, all tailored to African development needs.
Minister George emphasized that the initiative aligns with President John Dramani Mahama’s digital vision and complements the government’s One Million Coders Programme. This program seeks to equip young Ghanaians with skills in AI, cybersecurity, and data governance.
Speaking on the economic shift toward innovation, Sultan Bin Sulayem stated that modern wealth depends on the ability to scale ideas. He cited global examples of job transformation through technology and noted Ghana’s potential as a strategic production and distribution center in West Africa, thanks to shifting global supply chains.
“In today’s world, national wealth is defined not by gold or oil but by the ability to generate, implement, and scale ideas, just as Apple turned a simple concept into a multi-billion-dollar enterprise,” Sultan Bin said.
