Ghana's $1bn UAE-backed tech hub to host Microsoft, Meta, and more
Ghana is poised to become a leading tech giant in Africa after inking a US$1 billion memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to establish a major technology and innovation hub.
The initiative, named the “Ghana-UAE Innovations and Technology Hub,” is expected to attract over 11,000 global technology firms to Ghana, including major industry players such as Microsoft, Meta, Oracle, IBM, and Alphabet.
The agreement was signed on Thursday, May 29, in Accra by Ghana’s Minister of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George, and the Chairman of the UAE’s Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation (PCFC), Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem.
The technology hub will be located in Ningo-Prampram, a district in Ghana’s capital region, and will cover an area of 25 square kilometres. It will serve as a regional centre for artificial intelligence (AI) engineering, business process outsourcing (BPO), knowledge process outsourcing (KPO), and machine learning services, with a focus on Africa’s specific data needs.
According to local sources, the PCFC will fully fund the initial phase of the project in collaboration with leading AI firms involved in Dubai’s AI transformation.
“This hub will create a space where investment meets ingenuity, where the creativity of Ghana's youth is matched with opportunities to try, and where advanced technologies are developed, deployed and exported,” said George.
“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,” he added.
PCFC Chairman Bin Sulayem highlighted the role of innovation in economic development, stating, “Today, wealth is not measured by gold or oil but by the ability to generate, implement, and scale ideas.”
