Ghana has signed a $1 billion agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to build a massive artificial intelligence and technology hub that will serve as a gateway for global tech firms expanding across Africa.

The deal was formalized through a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Ghana’s Minister of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George, and Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Chairman of the UAE’s Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation (PCFC).

Dubbed the “Ghana-UAE Innovations and Technology Hub,” the project aims to fast-track Ghana’s digital transformation and establish the country as a regional leader in AI and emerging technologies.

Set to rise in Ningo-Prampram on a 25 square kilometre site provided by the Ghanaian government, the hub is expected to attract over 11,000 global tech firms, including Microsoft, Meta, Oracle, IBM, and Alphabet.

PCFC, which will fully fund the first phase of the project, said the hub will serve as a regional base for artificial intelligence engineering, business process outsourcing (BPO), knowledge process outsourcing (KPO), and data generation for Africa-focused machine learning.

Companies involved in Dubai’s AI transformation will collaborate on the development, which marks one of the largest foreign-backed tech infrastructure projects in Ghana’s history.

Ghana, which already hosts Google’s first African AI research center in Accra, continues to gain global attention as a rising technology destination.

The project aligns with Ghana’s broader efforts to attract high-tech investment, support local innovation, and create digital jobs.

With the backing of the UAE and the world’s biggest tech players, the country is aiming to lead the continent in the fast-evolving AI race.