The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has once again received international plaudits for its forward-thinking approach, as evidenced by its swift introduction of a regulatory sandbox for start-ups.
Speaking as part of a panel during the Africa CEO Forum (ACF) Annual Summit in
Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, Miishe Addy – co-founder and Chief Executive at
e-logistics start-up Jetstream – cited the sandbox as a critical tool for
driving innovation and commended the BoG for taking the lead with its
introduction.
“One of the tools needed to push innovation and harness emerging technology is
a regulatory and innovation sandbox, and the Bank of Ghana has shown immense
ambition in this regard,” she said.
Following a successful pilot, the BoG launched its Regulatory and Innovation
Sandbox on August 19, 2022, aiming to create a favourable regulatory
environment for innovation and financial inclusion by providing a controlled
environment for testing innovative financial products and business models under
regulatory supervision.
The regulatory sandbox was opened to the first cohort of participants from
February 13, 2023 to March 14, 2023. Eligible participants include various
financial institutions and fintech start-ups.
It supports digital business models not currently covered by regulations and
aims to address financial inclusion challenges. Participants can test the
viability of their offerings and address any issues before seeking regulatory
approval.
The sandbox is crucial for driving financial inclusion and developing reliable
products and services for micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs),
with a priority for products and services leveraging blockchain technology,
remittance solutions, crowdfunding, electronic know your customer (e-KYC)
platforms and more. The first cohort will focus on payment, remittance,
crowdfunding and micro-lending innovations.
“As Ghana and the rest of the continent continue to position themselves as a
hub for technology and innovation, fostering a supportive ecosystem for tech
talent and expanding access will be vital steps in achieving its ambitious
goals,” Ms. Addy further stated.
Talent pipeline
The Jetstream chief also emphasised the pressing need for Ghana to establish a
constant pipeline of tech talent in order to foster innovation and drive
economic growth. She drew parallels with the dynamic relationship between
Stanford University in the United States and Silicon Valley – home to tech juggernauts
Apple, Google, Microsoft, Tesla and Linkedin, among others.
At the tech Mecca, the market capitalisation of the top-five companies is
currently in excess of US$6trillion and their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in
2019 stood at US$275billion, according to official data.
Ms. Addy – whose outfit earlier this year secured US$13million in equity and
debt pre-Series A financing – highlighted the role of educational policy and
infrastructure development in supporting Ghana’s burgeoning technology sector.
She pointed out that the country is home to several relatively new universities
such as Ashesi and Academic City, both less than 20 years old. However, these
institutions, she said, have faced significant challenges in obtaining
accreditation.
To meet the requirements, they had to affiliate with existing universities –
resulting in delays when introducing critical courses such as artificial
intelligence (AI). This delay meant that many students who graduated during
this period missed out on the opportunity to study AI, a crucial field for
future entrepreneurship and job opportunities.
“One of our engineers came from one of these universities, and he told me that
it took them four years to get an artificial intelligence course approved,” she
said.
To address this issue, the start-up founder stressed the importance of
educational policies that promote innovation and equip students with the
necessary skills for future success. By introducing courses in emerging
technologies like AI, blockchain and data science, educational institutions can
ensure that graduates are well-prepared for demands of the evolving job market.
Encouraging and empowering young students to pursue these fields will help
create a pool of talented individuals who can drive Ghana’s technological
advancement and contribute to the growth of local companies, she added.
This comes as there is heightened conversation around the need to focus on
improving connectivity infrastructure in the country. While acknowledging the
digital nature of today’s world, a significant portion of the population still
lacks access to affordable and reliable Internet connectivity.
This digital divide hinders the participation of a large segment of the
population in the digital economy. To overcome this challenge, analysts have
urged increased investments in infrastructure to expand Internet connectivity –
enabling more people to access educational resources, job opportunities and
digital services.
Source:
B&FT