The Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation has emphasised the need for technology and innovation-driven efforts to spur economic growth and development in the face of the ongoing economic challenges.
It stated that as efforts are being deployed to put the economy back on the path of growth, science, technology and innovation (STI) can speed up the recovery process, if prioritised. Currently, the country ranks 95th among the 132 economies featured in the 2022 Global Innovation Index (GII) which rates world economies according to their innovation capabilities.
“Our ability to address these challenges can only be realised if our efforts are driven by science, technology and innovation. The growth of Ghana’s economy must be anchored on the strategic application of science, technology and innovation to transform the ethos of Ghana into a nation of innovation.
“The character of the nation, the mindset of our people and the engine of the economy must all be driven by innovation,” Dr. Kwaku Afriyie, Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, stated.
He said the MESTI remains resolute in its commitments to strengthening and leveraging STI to support national development.
Dr. Afriyie said this in a speech read on his behalf by his special advisor, Oliver Boachie, at the Ghana Science, Technology, Innovation, Research and Sustainability Commercialisation Partnership programme in Accra, organised by MESTI in collaboration with the West and Central Africa Research and Education Network (WACREN) and Heritors Labs.
The minister stated that his outfit is currently employing measures to strengthen the country’s innovation ecosystem through the establishment of robust and functioning innovation support programmes.
“We plan to develop nationwide infrastructure to support innovation, train our youth and equip them with tools for creating sustainable innovations,” he added.
Mr. Oliver Boachie further disclosed that MESTI has developed a 10-year masterplan to turn the country into an innovation hub, championed by Ghana Innovation and Research Commercialisation Centre.
GIRC Centre
The Ghana Innovation and Research Commercialisation Centre (GIRC Centre) is a unit that has been set up by the MESTI to drive and grow research and innovation, and to support the transformation of research findings and innovations into industrial products and services.
The GIRC Centre serves as the heart of research and innovation in Ghana to pump life into all research institutions, innovators and academia by linking them to incubator hubs, donor agencies and businesses to commercialise research.
