General Overview

Ghana’s ICT sector plays a key role in Ghana’s broader economic growth. It continues to expand despite downward trends in other sectors resulting from Ghana’s current economic challenges. According to the Ghana Investment Promotion Center, the ICT sector in Ghana is valued at about 1.5 billion Ghanaian cedis annually and is expected to continue to strongly grow.  This includes a market for computer hardware of 900 million cedis, software sales of 100 million cedis, and IT services of 300 million cedis.

Other industry analysts have estimated the market value as follows (in dollars):  

1. Digital infrastructure, including data centers, fiberoptic cables, etc.: $400 million
2. Software (sales of software by companies like Oracle, IBM and SAP): $200 million
3. Cloud infrastructure: $15 million
4. Cybersecurity: $30 million
5. Fintech, Health-tech and Ed-tech: $115 million
6. Training and services: $150 million

Ghana has a relatively high mobile penetration rate of 45% of the overall population (with an even higher rate of individual mobile voice subscriptions — 41 million or 134% of the population — because individuals have more than one subscription). Data subscriptions are 24 million, a penetration rate of 78%.  Further, Ghanaian consumers’ early adoption of mobile payments, helped to establish Ghana as a leader among African countries in the ICT and financial technologies’ spaces. However, last mile connectivity continues to be an issue. While there is access to data, it is increasingly at a prohibitive cost for local consumers and often only in urban areas. There is significant room for growth to improve access to data connectivity. For example, the government of Ghana is encouraging the extension of fiber optic networks to the last mile to enable all communities to access data connectivity.

Several U.S. tech equipment, software, research, and services companies are present in the market or cover it from neighboring markets. They include American Tower Corporation, Parallel Wireless, Lynk, Tech Gulf, Google, AWS, Twitter, VX Technologies, TechGulf, IBM, Nvidia, Oracle, Uber, Emergent Payments, Microsoft, EAI Information Systems, and Cisco, among others. American Tower Corporation is a major investor in telecom infrastructure. In 2019, Google opened its first Artificial Intelligence research center in Africa in Ghana.   

Telecommunications and Internet: American Tower Corporation operates 84% of Ghana’s more than 6,500 towers.  Helios operates 16%. Huawei is a significant equipment supplier as well. Vodaphone has nearly a 98% share of the fixed voice market, but that market only has a one percent penetration rate.

In 2021, AirtelTigo left the Ghanaian market and was acquired by the Government of Ghana.  At of the start of 2022, South African-based MTN had the largest market share of Ghana’s mobile telecommunications sector at 61%. Vodafone had 20% and AirtelTigo had 19%. In February 2023, Vodafone sold its shares to the United Kingdom-based Telecel Group. In April 2023, Virginia-based Lynk Global, Inc., a satellite-direct-to-standard-phone telecoms company, announced that it signed a contract with Telecel Group to provide services to Vodafone Ghana’s subscribers using Lynk’s “cell-towers-in-space.” Telecom operators in Ghana currently use 3G and 4G technology.  The Government of Ghana has yet to approve a 5G license. 

Busy, Surfin, Telesol, and Broadband Home have broadband wireless subscriptions comprising 81%, 11%, 6% and 2% of the market, respectively.

Submarine cables: Ghana has five submarine cable providers; SAT-3, MainOne, WASC, Glo and ACE. The first submarine fiber cable was landed in Ghana by the SAT-3 consortium which included the Government of Ghana through Ghana Telecom.

Business Process Outsourcing (BPO): English-speaking Ghana, which is only four hours ahead of the U.S. East Coast during half of the year and five hours the other half, has a growing BPO industry. TechGulf, a partnership with U.S.-based Overland Tandberg, launched a 50-person call center in Accra in 2022.  Several local ICT services companies provide services to the United States market from Ghana.

Sub-Sector Best Prospects

Financial Services, Financial Technology (Fintech), and Digital Payments:

Traditional Financial Service Providers: MasterCard and Visa are key players in the financial services space and partners that provide backbone infrastructure for many of the fintech and digital payments solutions.

Mobile Money: Mobile money is a payment service operated under the regulatory authority of the Bank of Ghana and is performed via a mobile device. Instead of paying with cash, check, or credit cards, a consumer can use their mobile device to pay for goods and services.  The use of mobile money or “momo” is very common in Ghana. Registered mobile money accounts reached 30 million, and mobile money transactions exceeded $36 billion in 2020.  That year, the total value of mobile money transactions exceeded the value of check transactions. Ghana has the second-highest data penetration rate and fastest-growing mobile money market in sub–Saharan Africa which has greatly enhanced financial inclusion. MTN, Vodaphone, and AirtelTigo all offer mobile money payment services, with MTN having the largest market share. Emergent, Hubtel, ExpressPay and Zeepay are examples of other operators in the electronic money/mobile money market in Ghana.

Fintechs and Venture Capital: According to the Bank of Ghana, there are 47 licensed fintechs in the country with a total volume of transactions at $9.5 billion at the end of 2022.  Ghana’s start-up ecosystem attracted $111 million in equity funding in 2020, according to the Africa Tech Venture Capital Report. Fintechs, especially digital payment platforms, (and to a lesser extent, insurance technology and health technology) accounted for more than 95% of venture capital funding. Ghana attracted the third-largest amount of fintech funding in Africa in 2020, $47 million, behind Nigeria and South Africa, but ahead of Egypt and Kenya.

Cybersecurity: Revenue in Ghana’s cybersecurity market (cyber solutions and security services) is projected to reach $43 million in 2023. 

Cyber Solutions is the largest market segment within cybersecurity.  It has a projected market volume of $26 million in 2023 and is expected to grow to $73 million by 2028.  Specifically:

• • The network security subsegment is expected to reach $14 million in 2023 and $26 million in 2028.  
  • Other Solutions is projected to reach $9 million in 2023 and $18 million by 2028.
  • Cloud security is estimated to be a market of $500,000, growing to $2.3 million by 2028.
  • Data Security is projected to reach $1 million in 2023 and to reach $1.75 million by 2028. 

Security Services are projected to reach $17 million in 2023 and reach $23 million by 2028.  Specifically:

• • The Professional Services subsegment of security services is estimated to be $12 million in 2023 and expand to $17 million by 2028.
  • Managed Services are expected to grow from $5 million in 2023 to $5.6 million in 2028.

According to the Ghanaian Cybersecurity authority, Ghana recorded 431 cybersecurity breaches in the third quarter of 2022. Most of these were phishing attacks. The lack of cybersecurity awareness presents an opportunity for U.S. companies that can offer training and technology. In 2022, the Ghana Cybersecurity Authority announced that every cybersecurity operator had to be licensed by the Cybersecurity authority. In addition, the CSA announced that Critical Information Infrastructure (CII) Owners will be subjected to mandatory audit and compliance checks in terms of compliance with the Directive for the Protection of Critical Information Infrastructures which was adopted on October 1, 2021. Thirteen sectors have been identified as CII sectors. They comprise the bulk of the entire Ghanaian economy. They include national security and intelligence, ICT, banking and finance, energy, water, transportation, health, emergency services, government, food and agriculture, manufacturing, mining, and education. 

Ghana is introducing a new licensing regime for cybersecurity providers and companies.  Please see our market intelligence report for more information.

Data Storage: Ghana has the potential to host large scales data centers because of the availability of electricity, its geographic location, and five undersea cables landing in the country. There are currently six medium-sized commercial data centers in Ghana. The cost of electricity in Ghana compared to other west African countries and the cost of leasing space can be deterring factors.

Hardware: One of the largest segments of local sales is mobile phones, tablets, computers, networking switches, routers, and back up devices like UPSs. Finding the right distributors and avoiding the grey market are key factors in this market segment. After-sales service is needed as well. Another area of growing demand is home automation products and Internet of Things (IoT)-compatible devices that will serve the growing middle class.  

Government Priorities and Policies

Regulatory Structure: The ICT sector is regulated by the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation.  The National Communications Authority is responsible for licensing and regulating all businesses operating in the communications sub-sector.  

Government Initiatives: During the COVID 19 pandemic, the Government of Ghana announced the Ghana COVID-19 Alleviation and Revitalization of Enterprises Support Program, (the Ghana CARES Program) or ‘Obaatan Pa’. Phase two of CARES has a strong focus on digital-related policies and technologies. It provides insight into the Government of Ghana’s approach to developing the ICT/digital economy in 2022 and 2023. 

• Government efforts in this area are focused on expediting implementation of Government digital initiatives such as the National ID, digital address systems, land records digitization, and Ghana.Gov and then consolidate them to improve productivity and service delivery.  
• The government seeks to digitize fiscal revenue collection, support a cashless society, and improve online education delivery.
• The government will seek to invest in the national fiber network backbone to expand and improve internet connectivity. Promoting increased digital literacy is another priority.
• Finally, the government seeks to support Ghanaian technology entrepreneurs to build tech hubs and to export IT-enabled services such as business process outsourcing (BPO).

Taxes: Ghana applies a Communications Service Tax of 5% on telecom services. Following the passage of the Electronic Transfer Act 2022 in April (Act 1075), the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) implemented a 1.5% e-levy on mobile money electronic transfers on May 1, 2022.  See our Market Intelligence on Digital Payments for more information. In January 2023, the Ghanaian government reduced the e-levy to one percent.

Digital Value Added Taxes (VAT): In April 2023, Ghana introduced a new VAT tax system for non-resident suppliers of services that are provided via the internet.  Please see the scope of coverage, how the taxes are assessed, and the  procedures for registering in our market intelligence report. Ghana has subsequently worked with international industry to simplify the payment of many small taxes and fees with one unified payment.

Trade Shows

Tech in Ghana, November 28 – 29, 2023, The Grand Arena, Accra, Ghana.  Please contact U.S. Commercial Service at Office.Accra@trade.gov if you are interested in exhibiting at this event.  (2500 attendees, 350 speakers and 200 showcased companies.)

Contact: U.S. Commercial Service Ghana Commercial Specialist Victoria Agbai at Office.Accra@trade.gov or +233 (0) 30 274 1184 for more information on the ICT sector.