The maiden awards to celebrate excellence in the digital space in Ghana has been launched in Accra with a call on Ghanaians to take the sector seriously.
The event dubbed “Africa Digital awards” will take place from June 27 and 28, 2019 in Accra with a summit on digitalisation on the first day while day two will be the awards night.
Speaking at the function, a Ghanaian-American fibre optics inventor, Dr Thomas Mensah said digitisation is the future of the world.
He therefore urged Ghanaians to take the sector seriously since it is the key to unearth the economic fortunes of the country.
Dr. Mensah who is also the founder and chairman of the Silicon Valley of Ghana, an innovation and competency centres in Accra, said he will train over 300,000 Senior High School students in Software development at the centre as part of his contribution towards the social-economic development of the country.
The software training programme, according to him, will make the students competitive on the global stage and also help Ghana compete with other countries in the years to come.
He added that the Silicon Valley of Ghana will create business accelerators and incubators that can compete with tech-companies around the world, move Ghana into the 21st Century technological advancement and also support the high Speed Bullet Train that is being developed in Ghana.
He was of the view that the creation of these innovation centres’ with business accelerators will, however, create industries and job opportunities for graduates and encourage them to stay and work in Ghana to reduce the issue of human capital flight by helping them to retain the best and brightest individuals to stay home and help improve the nation.
Crème de la crème
In his welcome address, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ThirdEye Media, organisers of the awards, Mr Foster Sam said the event seeks to bring together the crème de la crème of Ghana’s digital space together and also celebrate players in the sector that are impacting society with innovations and services.
According to him, the Africa Digital awards, is to engage in latest digital trends and give possible solutions to Ghana’s developmental issues using digital to drive the economy.
He added that the awards will honour digital players and innovation in other African countries as well, adding that the awards will be extended to other countries on the continent.
Categories
Media
Best News Portal, Best Use of Social Media, Online Editor of the Year, Entertainment Site of the Year, Digital Artiste of the Year .
Financial
Best Digital Bank, Financial Services Brand on Social Media, Fintech Innovation of the Year, Best Banking App for Ghana, Telecom, Internet Service Provider of the Year, Best Telecom in Customer Service, Telecom of the Year.
General
Best Digital Education Platform , Ecommerce Platform of the Year , Social Media Personality , Most Innovative AgriTech App , Best Use of Digital for Travel and Tourism, Best Innovation for Health and Best e-Goverance Platform/Service.
By graphic.com