Shaping Ghana's Digital Future: The Impact of Ghana Hub Network (GHN)

Today, it is the backbone of a rapidly expanding digital economy that is transforming how businesses operate, citizens access services, and young people create livelihoods. As digital innovation increasingly drives economic development, entrepreneurship, and employment, ensuring that every actor within the ecosystem has a voice has become just as important as expanding connectivity itself.

Against this backdrop, innovation hub founders convened in Accra in 2017 to discuss digitalisation, equality and inclusion. Across the country, local tech spaces and enterprise centers were doing the essential work of nurturing young digital talents. Yet, when national digital strategies were crafted by government agencies and development partners, these grassroot organizations were excluded. 

Yaw Adu-Gyamfi, Chairman of the Ghana Hubs Network (GHN), recalls: 

 “Few of us were being engaged on the matters of digitalization, technology and entrepreneurship, and we felt that it wasn't representative enough. We needed to set up a platform, so that when there are policy engagements, we can give our inputs.”

Before Ghana Hubs Network (GHN) could shape national strategy, it faced two core vulnerabilities: geographic isolation and operational fragility. In 2017, member hubs were confined to major urban centers like Accra, Kumasi, and Tamale, leaving peri-urban and rural entrepreneurs disconnected. Operationally, hubs were trapped in short-term donor programming cycles, often lacking the formal governance, financial management, and procurement standards needed to achieve long-term stability.

Transforming this fragmented ecosystem required an equal partnership built on institutional strength  and mutual learning. Partnering with GIZ, Ghana Hubs Network (GHN) executed a multi-phase transformation:

National Mobilization & Policy

A 25-day nation-wide tour brought hub concepts to local authorities, students, and leaders across the country. Membership grew by 400%, expanding from 15 to over 45 hubs across all 10 regions. GHN then hosted a ground-level policy hackathons, generating the baseline inputs for the landmark Ghana Innovation and Startup Bill.

"The work we did in 2019, supported by GIZ Ghana, is what became the baseline document for the Ghana Innovation and Startup Bill” This bill is essential to define the who a startup is, the regulatory framework and attract investors to support startups in the country. 

Building Resilience Crisis 

When COVID-19 lockdowns hit in 2020, shutting physical spaces and drying up revenue, a dedicated Resiliency Project with GIZ helped the hubs pivot service offerings and diversify income streams beyond donor funding.

Institutional Strengthening & Inclusion

In 2021, a Digitization and Capacity Strengthening Programme supported young developers (45% female participation) and trained over 60 hub program and financial managers through a train-the-trainer model. In partnership with GIZ, the GHN developed and launched a Gender Toolkit in 2026. This toolkit has been adapted by the hubs to promote structural equity and inclusion directly into program design and hub operations.

Today, Ghana Hubs Network encompasses over 45 active member hubs spanning every region of Ghana. Exposure to international peer networks in Kenya and Iraq encouraged the hubs to transition from generic spaces to specialized centers focusing on climate action, agribusiness, and Technical and vocational education and training (TVET).  Furthermore, GHN decentralized the Ghana Digital and Innovation Week, bringing national dialogues directly to six regions.

"Our collaboration with GIZ has gone beyond institutional support. It has created sustainable talent pipelines, with trained hub managers establishing new innovation hubs across peri-urban Ghana, while also giving us the opportunity to advocate on global stages like the Hamburg Sustainability Conference, where we have demonstrated that local innovation hubs are indispensable to achieving sustainable development."

Through its partnership with the Ghana Hubs Network, GIZ is promoting sustainable economic development by strengthening local ownership and institutional capacity within the digital ecosystem in Ghana. This empowers startups and businesses to grow through   enhanced business support services and stronger links to regional and global markets.

The collaboration with the Ghana Hubs Network has been an initiative of the Digital Transformation Centre in Ghana with funding from the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. DTC Ghana aims to improve the preconditions for using digital transformation for job creation and entrepreneurship.

Author: Stephen Kwakwa