Deputy Minister visits ICT Incubation Centre

Accra, Sept. 27, GNA - Mr. Fredrick Opare-Ansah, Deputy Minister of Communications, on Wednesday visited the Ghana Multimedia ICT Incubation Centre established by the Ministry and UN Development Programme three years ago to support Small and Medium scale Enterprises (SME) to develop various ICT skills for both their own development and to enhance government's effort in making ICT the major tool for development. Mr. Solomon Asante Dartey, Project Director of the Centre, who conducted the Deputy Minister around the facility, explained that it had offered entrepreneurship training for over 300 SMEs, most of who had been absorbed unto the job market by both private and state companies. He said apart from the selective capacity development of SMEs, individual companies also patronised the services of the Centre by undertaking ICT training.

Mr Dartey said the Centre was currently housing about seven different sections of SMEs, which were developing different ICT software products for the market.

They include Real-IT Solutions, which has designed an easy science education software for children in both the Upper Primary and Junior High School levels, using animation to explain simple scientific symbols and terms, as well as performing simple laboratory experiments taking into account the approved syllabus by the Ghana Education Service. Aponkye.com, an online advertising company, Step Technologies, a security automation software company, Corporate Management Information Systems (CMIS), providers of online health delivery system and WICE Net Limited, providers of a State-of-the Art in-room entertainment for the hospitality industry, are also working at the Centre. Others are the CBB Solutions and the JobWeb, which provide software for sales identification and online job recruitment training programmes respectively.

Mr Opare-Ansah commended the management of the Centre for the efficient and effective work done and urged the trainees to take their courses seriously to help expand the level of ICT knowledge and usage. He expressed satisfaction at the level of training and urged the centre to work hard towards the achievement of the goals of the government in making ICT a major tool for national development. Mr Opare-Ansah also thanked the UNDP for its support and said the Ministry would do well to provide all the needed support to make the project a success.