Ghanaian government backs indigenous AI firm Dodo Technologies, framing homegrown innovation as a shield against foreign data dominance and exploitation.
Ghana’s government has thrown its weight behind a new generation of homegrown Artificial Intelligence (AI) developers, positioning indigenous innovation as a safeguard against what officials and scholars describe as digital colonialism — the domination of African data by foreign tech giants.
Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George, reaffirmed this commitment during a meeting with executives from Dodo Technologies Limited, a Ghanaian AI firm preparing to host the Dodo Summit 2025 on December 10 at the University of Professional Studies, Accra.
George said the initiative aligns with Ghana’s National AI Strategy, which emphasizes training AI systems on local datasets rather than relying on foreign models that ignore African realities. He described technological sovereignty as central to Ghana’s “Reparations Agenda,” asserting that “digital independence is the next frontier of freedom.”
Over 80 percent of African data currently flows through servers owned by Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud, exposing the continent to what experts call algorithmic colonialism. These systems often reflect biases from Western datasets, misrepresenting African languages, financial patterns, and health data.
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The Minister directed Dodo Technologies to collaborate with the Ministry’s Innovation Directorate for potential pilot testing in the public sector. He praised the firm’s flagship AI platform, designed to unify communication across organizations, as evidence of Ghana’s growing technological maturity.
Dodo Technologies’ Chief Executive Officer, Kane Mani, said the company’s innovation was entirely developed in Ghana and aims to “end fragmented communication” by offering locally engineered solutions to communication and customer engagement challenges.
The December summit will gather policymakers, innovators, and industry leaders to discuss AI governance, ethics, and data sovereignty — key components of Ghana’s ambition to become Africa’s AI hub by 2028.
Ghana’s digital agenda extends beyond policy rhetoric. The government recently launched a One Million Coders Program to train youth in digital skills and conducted its first AI Boot Camp for Cabinet Ministers to deepen executive understanding of emerging technologies.
An Emerging Technology Bill, now under stakeholder review, will soon provide the legal foundation for AI, blockchain, and quantum computing governance. Officials say the legislation will ensure innovation proceeds responsibly while safeguarding national interests.
Ghana’s proactive stance contrasts with much of Africa, where data infrastructure remains largely foreign-owned. By supporting companies like Dodo Technologies, Ghana hopes to reverse that imbalance — transforming itself from a data exporter into a continent-wide center for AI excellence.