Ghana has signed a $1 billion memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the United Arab Emirates to build a major technology and innovation hub in Ningo-Prampram, a district in the Greater Accra Region.
The deal was finalized by Ghana’s Minister of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George, and Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Chairman of Dubai’s Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation (PCFC).
“Yesterday marked the culmination of three months of behind-the-scenes workings between my Ministry and the government of the UAE to secure a landmark US$1 billion Innovation Hub deal,” George said.
“This would see a number of global ICT giants and enabled businesses take residence in the hub as their African HQs.”
He added that the agreement aligns with the digital vision of President John Dramani Mahama and supports Ghana’s One Million Coders Programme, which aims to equip young Ghanaians with digital skills in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data governance, and related fields.
Named the Ghana-UAE Innovations and Technology Hub, the project is expected to attract major global tech companies including Microsoft, Oracle, Meta, IBM, and Alphabet, as part of the over 11,000 businesses connected to the PCFC.
These companies are expected to use the hub to expand their footprint across Ghana and the wider African market.
The project’s first phase will span 25 square kilometers in Ningo-Prampram and will be entirely funded by the UAE.
Ghana is providing the land for the development.
Once operational, the hub will focus on AI engineering, business process outsourcing (BPO), knowledge process outsourcing (KPO), and the generation of data for machine learning models tailored to the African context.
George described the agreement as a pivotal step in Ghana’s digital transformation.
“To Ghana’s vibrant community of tech entrepreneurs, innovators, and digital talents, this is your platform.
It is your ideas, your startups, your research, and your courage that will give it life and meaning,” he said.
“We are creating the conditions for a digital renaissance, led by Ghanaians for Ghanaians.
Our goal is not to catch up with the digital age, but to help shape it.”
Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem emphasized the economic shift toward innovation-driven development.
“In today’s world, national wealth is defined not by gold or oil but by the ability to generate, implement, and scale ideas, just as Apple turned a simple concept into a multi-billion-dollar enterprise,” he said.
Drawing on examples like DP World’s automated port in Rotterdam and its operations in over 70 countries, he noted that technology is transforming, not eliminating, jobs.
“Jobs were not being lost but transformed, with workers now managing smarter processes and customer relationships,” he stated.
Sulayem also pointed out that with global supply chains shifting, companies are increasingly looking to manufacture closer to their markets, giving Ghana an opportunity to become a strategic production and distribution center in West Africa.
While Ghana moves ahead with this innovation hub, Nigeria is also accelerating its digital ambitions.
The country’s Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, recently launched a National Artificial Intelligence Strategy to support infrastructure, governance, and talent development.
The initiative is backed by global tech firms like Google and Microsoft.
Google has committed N2.8 billion to boost AI talent in Nigeria, in addition to a prior N100 million investment in the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics.
Microsoft also pledged $1 million earlier this year to train one million Nigerians in AI skills.
Despite this momentum, many African nations still face critical infrastructure challenges, such as unstable electricity supply, weak data connectivity, and underdeveloped digital frameworks—issues that continue to slow progress in fully leveraging AI’s potential across the continent.
