Africa must get its own ‘Silicon Valley’ – GRIDCo boss

Africans should start thinking of developing their own ‘Silicon Valley’ in order to help develop home grown solutions that are made by Africans and for Africans, Mr Jonathan Amoako-Baah, Chief Executive of Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRDCo), has said

He said Africans are the only ones who know the problems facing the continent hence, are the best people to fix them.

Silicon Valley, in the southern San Francisco Bay Area of California, is home to many start-up and global technology companies.

Apple, Facebook and Google are among the most prominent. It’s also the site of technology-focused institutions centered around Palo Alto’s Stanford University.

He was speaking at the opening ceremony of the 2019 AFRICON hosted by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the world’s largest professional association dedicated to advancing engineering and technology for the benefit of humanity on Wednesday, 25 September 2019 at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA).

The Ghana section of IEEE is hosting this year’s 3-day conference on the theme: Powering Africa’s Sustainable Energy for All Agenda: The Role of ICT and Engineering.

He said: “There is the need to continuously guide the career growth of young engineering and ICT professionals, and instil confidence in them. We should create a sense of awareness amongst every African child- that they are the hope of Africa. Their self-esteem should be well managed, and a “can do spirit” should be inculcated into them at early childhood.

“We should think of having our own “Silicon Valley” to develop home grown solutions that are made by Africans and are for Africans. We are the only ones who know our problems hence, we are the best people to fix it.

“I believe the new energy world will continue to evolve and present exciting and inspiring challenges for us in Ghana and Africa as a whole.”

He added: “As the adoption of renewables and volume of local generation increases, so will the complexity of keeping supply and demand in balance.

“Sophisticated systems and controls are needed to integrate an ever-wider set of energy sources and interface with regional traded energy markets, all while ensuring stability, reliability and maximising efficiency.

“At the heart of all this will be a tripartite of engineering, ICT and youth empowerment. In other words, the engineering principles will remain the same but we will only make it more and more efficient through ICT, by allowing the youth to lead the way.”