Telecoms and IT

Broad activity has increased dramatically over the past several years with the establishment of three new undersea links: the West Africa Cable System, Main One and Glo-1. While the pace of IT development is strong, particularly in comparison with other countries in the region, more efforts must be made to ensure connectivity outside of urban centres, which will mean lowering the prices of broadband and hardware to make these technologies more accessible to the average Ghanaian. The country’s telecoms market, too, is one of the most competitive on the continent. Mobile penetration has soared from 2.4% in 2001 to 84.9% in 2011, well ahead of the developing world average of 78.8%. Providers are seeking to boost revenues with non-voice services, though penetration is still relatively low. This chapter includes an interview with Herman Chinery-Hesse, Founder, The SOFTtribe.