The Chief Executive Officer of IT Consortium, Romeo Bugyei has urged the banking sector to turn its attention to the digital economy.
He made the call on Citi TV on Tuesday as a panellist on the first in a series of fora as part of the month-long Citi Business Festival.
The forum was on the theme: “Re-imagining the Digital Economy”.
Touching on aspects of digital movement Ghana should prioritise, Mr. Bugyei said “aside from the financial side, we could also look at the infrastructural side, which is very important. It will help if government helps the private sector, especially those involved in backbone infrastructure. Mobile money works because there is an infrastructure.”
“As government tries to expand the use of digital economy, we should also see how we can help with the expansion of private-sector infrastructure, and also encourage a lot of local companies in the digitisation of government services.”
He encouraged the banking sector to invest more in data collection.
“I am hoping that the banks will not only be looking at the financial side. But the other side of the economy, and data. I am hoping that as banks set up innovation hubs, they can support young people. They could keep an eye on innovations from universities, thereby investing in systems to create jobs.”
“This is what we do at IT Consortium. Every year we bring in a number of students and give them access to our infrastructure to be able to continue to build things.“
He cited government’s Ghana Card initiative and encouraged banks to take advantage of it.
“One thing that government is championing and I’m hoping we give it more push is the Ghana card. The idea of issuing Ghana cards even to newborn babies will ensure that we have records of all citizens.”
“It will also help the banks in lending, and bring under control fraudulent activities.”
He also stressed the need for government to set deadlines for digitising all its services.
“We are hoping that as government improves the backends of its systems, it will help to create software infrastructure,” he added.
Today’s forum explored the possibilities for business in the new business ecosystem as the world approaches the fourth industrial revolution, which is driving changes in the new digital economy.
It was hosted by Kokui Selormey-Hanson. Other members on the panel were the Head of Fintech and Innovation at the Bank of Ghana, Kwame Oppong; the CEO of MTN Mobile Money Company Ltd, Eli Hini; and the Acting Chief Enablement and Information Officer of Absa, Justice Amegashie.
This forms part of Citi FM/Citi TV’s annual month-long Citi Business Festival, which seeks to shape and transform businesses.
The entire month of June is dedicated to business on Citi TV and 97.3 Citi FM.
About the Citi Business Festival
The Citi Business Festival is an extensive program of business events and on-air activities providing inspiration, business ideas, and information to persons who are starting, building, or growing their businesses.
The on-air series will air on the Citi Breakfast Show on 97.3 Citi FM every weekday.
There will also be business fora live on Citi TV every Tuesday from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm.
For the 2022 edition, the themes outlined during the period are as follows:
Week 1: Re-imagining the Digital Economy
Week 2: Resetting your SME after COVID-19
Week 3: The Ghana Opportunity
Week 4: Consumer Markets
Week 5: Agribusiness
ABSA Bank is the main sponsor of the Citi Business Festival 2022 with support from MTN Momo and MTN Business Support, Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) and IT Consortium.