Embrace technological change to increase foreign capital – Stakeholders urged

Stakeholders in all sectors of the Ghanaian economy, including regulators, financial institutions, and financial technology (fintech) companies, have been urged to embrace technological change.

This is to ensure that the opportunities in the fintech sector are realised to drive foreign capital investment, especially remittances into Ghana to support economic growth and create jobs for the youth.

Mr Darryl Mawutor Abraham, the Growth Director in charge of Africa, Taptap Send, said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency at the TEDx Accra conference, organised to empower Ghanaians as “agents of change.”

He said: “Let’s embrace change to help us move the country forward by moving more capital and foreign exchange into the country. Embrace change so, we can change the country from an import-driven economy to an export-driven economy.”

On the potential of fintech in driving capital into the Ghanaian economy, Mr Mawutor said in 2021 alone, about $4.5 billion was moved into Ghana by people who lived in the diaspora.

He, therefore, said, embracing technological change and creating the enabling environment in the financial ecosystem would be an important way to increase foreign capital into Ghana to aid and accelerate development.

“Everybody must embrace change and support the fintech sector to increase diaspora contribution to capital investment through remittances to help move Ghana and Africa from where it is now to the place, we’ll want it to be,” he urged.

On the need to champion the youth as agents of change to propel sustainable economic growth and improvement in the livelihoods of Ghanaians, he said it was necessary, “because if we’re stuck in our old ways, we can’t progress.”

“If we continue to do the same things the same way, we won’t move forward. So, we learn from the past, take what we know now and improve on it, then we move towards change,” Mr Mawutor said.

Mr Terry Kojo Oppong, the Organiser for TEDx Accra, said the conference was to empower the youth to champion Ghana and Africa’s development, building on earlier conference, which was used as a force to unite for change.

He said: “Each one of us is an agent of change and we’re here together to galvanise, build networks and champion ideas, because everything starts as an idea and developed into products and services to solve societal problems.”

He noted that the TED conferences were the ground-breaking of ideas, stories and philosophies shared globally to catalyse change and creating lasting impact through technology, education and design.

“We want to essentially get into a space and a place where you’re able to champion ideas and innovation, which Ghana and Africa needs at this critical moment of economic challenges,” Mr Oppong said.