#PatrioticSpaces: Government investing in cyber security to protect online businesses – Official

An official at the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation, Stallone Nyarko, has said the Ghana government is investing more in cyber security to make all citizens, especially those running online businesses safe.

Speaking at this week’s edition of #PatrioticSpaces on Twitter on Wednesday (24 August), Nyarko said: “Cyber security is very key because people’s livelihoods are now in the digital space. We’ve made a lot of investment in that space.”

Discussing the topic: “Opportunities for Ghanaians in the digital economy,” he said the Akufo-Addo government is working to ensure that “everyone on the internet is safe because there are a lot of interests there now. That is why the SIM card registration is a very important part of the security arrangement.”

According to him, inclusion is key to the government so a lot of the investment is going into ensuring access “to all, regardless of where you are or who you are.”

“We don’t want anyone to be left out in the global digital agenda. Digital economy will help develop Africa and it cannot be over emphasised. The plan is to establish about 2016 rural telephony sites for everyone to have access. No one will be left out,” he added.

For his part, Prince Ofosu Sefah, the administrator of the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC), said expanding coverage in the digital space is critical for the government to achieve inclusion.

“If you go to an area where there is no coverage, what kind of digitalisation can you do? When people have access then we’ve to think about expanding. We want more of our people to have access to digitalisation and leapfrog by way of creating and expanding their businesses,” Sefah said.

Also speaking on the same topic, Fatimatu Abubakar, the Deputy Minister of Information, advised Ghanaian youth to take advantage of the digital economy being spearheaded by the government to establish or expand their businesses.

She said there are so many opportunities in the digital space that could help address the unemployment situation in Africa if the youth make good use of the digital tools available to them.

“This is a conversation that is very important, especially to the youth,” Abubakar said at this week’s edition of #PatrioticSpaces on Twitter. “The digital economy has come to stay in Ghana so the youth must take advantage of it.”

She called on the youth to study the National AfCFTA Policy Framework and Action Plan, which was recently launched by the government in order to grow their start-ups beyond the shores of Ghana.

Government, through the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the National AfCFTA Coordination Office (NCO), has unveiled the National AfCFTA Policy Framework and Action Plan to boost Ghana’s trading prospects with the 43 member-countries of the bloc.

The framework, which is geared toward the harmonisation of relevant policies, programmes, laws and regulations to boost the productive capacities of the private sector in Ghana, particularly the MSMEs, is to harness the full benefits of the continental trade area agreement.

Speaking to the over 2000 participants, Abubakar said the Ghana National Coordinating Office of the African Continental Free Trade Area has developed an electronic Trade Information Repository interfaced with the African Trade Observatory (ATO) to increase trade prospects of Ghanaian businesses in the AfCFTA market.

“Take advantage of it,” she said. “It makes your business credible and opens you up to the African market. You’ll be able to reach out to the markets you cannot reach.”

“With the AfCFTA more access is created for people to trust your business. It’s also going to create value for your small businesses. The government’s digitalisation drive is creating opportunities in e-commerce, digital banking that is saving us more time and money,” she said.

Kow Essuman, the Lead Counsel to the President, who hosted the spaces said: “It’s not everyone whose social media handles will be verified, so you’ve to take advantage of the online platform provided by AfCFTA. It’s a very powerful tool for everyone to use and that is another way to make you credible online.”

Source: dailymail..com