Ghana’s artificial intelligence strategy is being shaped around practical economic and social outcomes, prioritising agriculture, healthcare, education, financial services, and public administration as the core areas where AI can deliver the greatest impact.
The Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George, at AfricaCom 2025 in Cape Town, said Ghana’s approach to AI is driven by the need to improve livelihoods, expand access to essential services, and support sustainable growth, rather than adopting technology for its own sake. He stressed that policy choices will determine whether AI reduces inequality or deepens existing social and digital divides.
In agriculture, the government plans to deploy AI to strengthen food security through precision farming, satellite-based soil analysis, digital extension services and improved access to commodity markets. These tools are intended to help farmers increase productivity, manage climate risks, and connect more efficiently to buyers.
Healthcare is another priority, with AI expected to support the expansion of telemedicine and remote diagnostics, particularly in underserved rural communities. By integrating AI-enabled services into community information centres and digital health platforms, the government aims to improve access to medical expertise without requiring patients to travel long distances.
In education, AI is being positioned as a means to close learning gaps across regions and income groups. The focus is on using digital platforms and intelligent systems to deliver high-quality educational content nationwide, ensuring that access to learning materials is not determined by geography.
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Financial technology remains a key pillar of Ghana’s digital economy, with AI playing a growing role in credit assessment and financial inclusion. The minister highlighted the use of AI-driven tools to support small and medium-sized enterprises that fall outside traditional banking systems, noting that digital lending platforms are already contributing significantly to economic growth. The next phase, he said, is to improve risk profiling and reduce default rates while expanding access to capital.
On governance, artificial intelligence underpins plans to digitise public services and make them more accessible to citizens. The government is working towards delivering thousands of services through integrated digital platforms, using AI to improve efficiency, reduce costs and enhance transparency.
Central to Ghana’s AI agenda is data governance. The minister emphasised the importance of harmonising data held across government institutions, breaking down silos and ensuring that data is cleaned, labelled and managed responsibly. This, he said, is critical to building AI systems that reflect Ghanaian realities and protect individual data rights.
Ghana is also moving to establish regulatory guardrails for emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, machine learning and blockchain. The aim is to encourage innovation while safeguarding data sovereignty, privacy and ethical use, ensuring that citizens retain control over how their data is collected and used.
With Africa’s population projected to continue expanding rapidly, the minister argued that the continent holds a strategic advantage in data and digital talent. Ghana’s strategy, he said, is to ensure that African data is used to build African solutions, positioning the country as an active participant in the global AI ecosystem rather than a passive consumer.
