Tech pioneer and IPMC founder Amar Deep Singh Hari has received a lifetime achievement award at this year’s Global Entrepreneurship Festival (GEF) in Accra, recognising more than three decades of work that helped transform Ghana’s digital landscape.

Hari is widely regarded as one of the architects of Ghana’s modern technology ecosystem. His career spans early software development, large-scale business automation and a sustained push to expand digital skills across West Africa.

He created Ghana’s first accounting software, Accounts Manager, in the early 1990s before steering IPMC’s rollout of India’s Tally system and the ERP platform Ebizframe, allowing thousands of businesses to computerise their operations.

By the mid-1990s he had moved further into uncharted territory. He built what is described as the country’s first data centre based on 64-bit RISC-architecture Alpha computer systems from Compaq, installed at the then SSB Bank. A second installation at the Ghana Statistical Service later became home to West Africa’s first storage area network, introduced through IPMC using technology developed by EMC Corporation.

Many of the digital services Ghanaians use daily now run on systems deployed by his company. Whether purchasing electricity units, paying water bills, using mobile money, shopping online or checking out at major retail stores, the transactions are often processed through IPMC-installed infrastructure.

His influence has also been felt in training and skills development. The IPMC University College of Technology has equipped hundreds of thousands of students across the region with practical IT skills and recently partnered with Harvard Online to introduce AI programmes curated by Harvard.

Organisers of GEF said the award recognised a career defined by steady innovation and a commitment to expanding digital access. The festival, held this year at La Palm Beach in Accra, brought together global innovators, business leaders and entrepreneurs. Ghana hosted the 2025 edition, with Namibia expected to take its turn in 2026.

Hari was praised as a visionary whose work helped accelerate Ghana’s entry into the digital era.

“Technology only has meaning when it improves everyday life. My goal has always been to make digital tools accessible to ordinary people and to help Ghana build systems that work for everyone,” he said after receiving the award.

“In the early days many thought these innovations were too ambitious for our market. But Ghana proved that with the right talent and commitment, we could be early adopters and even regional leaders. This honour is really for the thousands of young people who passed through IPMC and went on to shape the West African IT landscape. Their success is the clearest evidence that investing in people is the most powerful form of innovation.”