Ghana has set an ambitious target to become a leading artificial intelligence hub in West Africa and across the continent, with a focus on driving innovation, creating jobs and promoting inclusive national development.

President John Dramani Mahama announced the vision on Friday at the launch of Ghana’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (2025–2035), expressing confidence in the country’s ability to lead in the responsible deployment and governance of AI.

“Our vision is to position Ghana as a leading artificial intelligence hub in West Africa and the wider continental region, driving innovation, creating jobs, strengthening institutions and delivering inclusive national development,” he said.

The President stressed that achieving this goal would require strong leadership, revealing that all ministers and senior government officials had undergone a National AI Boot Camp to deepen their understanding of emerging technologies.

“Leadership must understand the tools that will define our future,” he noted.

He identified Ghana’s youthful and digitally engaged population as a key national advantage, adding that with the right investments and opportunities, the country could leverage its human capital to become a continental technology leader.

However, President Mahama acknowledged a major challenge: many existing AI systems are built on foreign data, languages and cultural assumptions, making them less effective in addressing local needs.

“Ghana cannot build a meaningful AI future using systems that do not understand our realities. We must invest in local data ecosystems, promote indigenous languages and develop context-aware AI systems that reflect who we are,” he said.

To illustrate the importance of localisation, the President shared an example of an AI application that successfully diagnosed an overwatered plant at home, but noted that such tools must be accessible in local languages to benefit farmers and non-English speakers.

“We must not only use AI; we must localise AI,” he emphasised.

Looking ahead to 2035, government envisions a robust national AI ecosystem where innovation hubs expand beyond Accra, universities lead cutting-edge research, Ghanaian startups scale globally and the public sector becomes fully equipped to drive AI-enabled transformation.