The development of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in Ghana has witnessed significant progress in recent years, thanks to the efforts of visionary leaders and professionals in the field. Ghana recognises the immense potential of ICT in driving economic growth, improving governance, enhancing education, and facilitating innovation.

Visionary leaders, both in the public and private sectors, have championed initiatives and policies that promote the adoption and utilisation of ICT. They have recognized the transformative power of technology and have implemented strategies to leverage IT for national development.

These leaders have emphasised the importance of investing in ICT infrastructure, promoting digital literacy and creating an enabling environment for ICT companies and startups to thrive. They have encouraged collaboration between government, industry, and academia to foster innovation and create a vibrant ICT ecosystem. An epitome of such leaders is Mr. Prince Ofosu Sefah.

Mr. Sefah is a highly skilled and versatile Digital Leader with extensive industry experience, both in Ghana and abroad, in Public and Private sectors, spanning about 25 years.

He is currently the Administrator (CEO) of the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC) and doubles as the Board Chairman of the Ghana Digital Centres Limited (GDCL).

In his role as the Administrator of GIFEC, he provides strategic direction over the policies, systems and processes, for the effective management of staff and other resources of the Fund. He also provides leadership in the development of GIFEC’s short and long-term strategic objectives, as well as ensures successful planning and implementation of the Fund’s Programmes and Projects, toward the attainment of set Mandates. He is a Member of the Board of Trustees of GIFEC.

He served as a Board Member of GDCL during the 1st Term of the Nana Akufo-Addo Administration, chairing the Board’s Technical and Operations Committee. He has also been a Board Member of the Institute of ICT Professionals Ghana since 2017. 

Mr. Prince Sefah, prior to his appointment at GIFEC, served as Deputy Director-General for the National Communications Authority (NCA), in charge of Operations, where he provided leadership and strategic management of NCA’s decentralised Field & Regional/Zonal Operations, across the country, as well as the Administration (Facilities, Security, Fleet, Safety and General Services) function. 

A Certified Senior Professional in Human Resources – International (SPHRi), Mr. Sefah holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (Human Resources Management) from the University of Ghana – Legon, and a Bachelor of Commerce (Information Technology Management) from Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada. 

He is a versatile Business Systems Administration, Analysis and Management Professional, as well as a proven leader and Manager, with about 25 years of progressive professional experience, spanning Manufacturing, Banking, ICT and Telecommunications Sectors in Canada and Ghana. 

He is an Advanced Toastmaster, achieving the Advanced Communicator (Bronze) and Advanced Leader (Bronze) from the Toastmasters International Organisation.  He founded the Digital Era Toastmasters Club – Ghana in 2023.

Mr. Sefah is an experienced Executive, Fundraiser, and an Organiser for various causes in the Community.

He was also awarded an Economics Book Prize, on the Economy of Developing Countries, while a student at Ryerson University.

Prince Ofosu Sefah has also participated in numerous industry conferences and training sessions and obtained multiple certifications from various reputable institutions. He has attended events and obtained certifications from institutions such as the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), African Telecommunications Union (ATU), USSTI, University of Florida’s Public Utility Research Center (PURC), Noetelis, Certified Ghana (PMP Training) and Microsoft Systems Administration.

Having been appointed Administrator (CEO) of Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC), by H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in August 2021, Mr. Prince Ofosu Sefah’s immediate priority was to manage a seamless transition and ensure continuity, to achieve the targets for the last quarter and prepare for significant improvement in operations in the ensuing years.

Accordingly, Mr. Sefah, working with the 5th Board of Trustees, which was inaugurated in September 2021, Management and Staff of GIFEC, has been able to chalk some key successes to-date (15th May, 2023).

It is noteworthy that GIFEC has three core Programmes; Rural Connectivity Programme (RCP), Cyberlabs Programme and ICT Capacity Building Programme, including the Ghana Rural Telephony and Digital Inclusion Project (GRT&DIP), GIFEC’s flagship project, which is an unprecedented investment being implemented on behalf of the Government of Ghana, with the objective to provide Mobile Network connectivity to 2,016 Underserved/ Unserved Communities, delivering Voice and Data services to about 4 million more Ghanaians.

Under Mr. Sefah, 508 additional GRT&DIP Sites have been built, bringing the total number of fully built Sites to 1,008, from 500 Sites built before he joined. Relatedly, the number of Built Sites which are fully activated has increased to 479 Sites, from less than 200 when he took office.

In addition, GIFEC has acquired 700 additional lands for the construction of more GRT&DIP Sites, during his tenure, bringing the total number of acquired technically viable lands to 1,245.

Mr. Sefah has also led GIFEC to make significant strides, working with the Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, in the resolution of major bottlenecks impeding the GRT&DIP, including that of the acquisition of Electricity Meters.

The biggest outstanding bottleneck at this time, is with respect to concluding negotiations with the Tower Companies (TowerCos), to allow for requisite integration and activation of most of the remaining Built Sites, which negotiations are in their final stages. These negotiations are on track to result in about 75% reduction in the originally estimated Tower Co-location cost per Site, which is a huge boost to the economics of Rural Telephony.

He has led the completion of a 40KM Aerial Fibre Project that has resulted in the connection of GRT&DIP Sites in 6 communities (Essase, Nkakaa, Nkwadum, Obeng, Dokoroso, and Anakum) in the Western and Western North Regions, with very difficult topography, which could not be overcome by the default GRT&DIP LTE Relay technology.

On behalf of the Honourable Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, he is also working with a multistakeholder team on a pilot of Low Orbit Satellite solution, to integrate with the GRT&DIP, that has the potential to resolve about 60 Sites facing extraordinary terrain/distance challenges and allow even more Mobile Network coverage across the country.

The GRT&DIP is scheduled to be completed in 2023, albeit beset by external project bottlenecks. Mr. Sefah’s focus in the meantime, is to work closely with relevant Stakeholders to clear all other bottlenecks so that the project can be completed rapidly, as soon as the external project bottlenecks are resolved.

With regards to GIFEC’s ICT Capacity Building Programme, which seeks to provide requisite ICT skills to ensure digital inclusion in Underserved/Unserved Communities, about 20,000 trainees and 700 trainers from diverse backgrounds have been trained in various ICT programmes across the country, an unprecedented achievement, during his tenure.

During his tenure, specifically, GIFEC has effectively facilitated the Girls in ICT Programme to train about 6,000 girls and 600 teachers, in addition to the 3,000 girls and 300 teachers trained since 2017 and before he joined. 4,000 more girls and 400 teachers are expected to be trained in 2023 under the Programme.

Our Digital Transformation Centres (DTC) Project, in partnership with the International Telecommunications Union, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) and Cisco, which had trained 88 Master Trainers and 4,178 citizens as at August 2021, has now trained about 10,000 more trainees and 69 more trainers in Basic ICT, Entrepreneurship and Cybersecurity, since he took office.

Currently in its final year, the project is expected to train 3,000 more citizens, to bring the total number of citizens trained to about 17,000, an increase over the originally planned 14,000 citizens. It is noteworthy that about 70% of the trainees of this project are female. Additionally, under the project, 33 Coding Clubs have been established across the country, with 586 children trained in Coding to-date. This year, 31 new Clubs will be added, to train 620 more children in Coding.

Similarly, under his stewardship, GIFEC has trained over 2,500 citizens under a DTC Programme with the German Corporation for International Development (GIZ).

Finally, under GIFEC’s ICT Skills for Entrepreneurial Women Empowerment (ISEWE) Project, which is collaborative effort with UNESCO, 240 female artisans have been trained in basic ICT and entrepreneurial skills, with 80 more planned to be trained in 2023.

To increase access to ICT equipment and services in Unserved/Underserved Communities, Mr. Sefah has supervised the completion 21 new Community ICT Centres (CICs) to add to the pre-existing 251 CICs, two (2) of the have been commissioned and operationalised. The rest of the completed CICs will be commissioned and operationalised this year. With another 9 CICs still being built, the goal is to increase the number of CICs to 281 across the country, soon.

At the heart of Mr. Sefah’s focus, with regards to CICs, is his determination to markedly improve their maintenance, management, and sustainability. Accordingly, on his watch, GIFEC has completed a comprehensive reassessment of all pre-existing CICs, to identify and classify their various needs and challenges and find solutions to keep them optimally operational.

Still on actions to improve the sustainability of the CICs, GIFEC is implementing Sustainability Management Committees (SMCs) to effectively localise and decentralise the oversight of the operations of CICs, as part of a Comprehensive CIC Sustainability Framework. A comprehensive Energy Audit of 30 CICs has also successfully completed in collaboration with GIZ, for requisite energy-saving actions soon.

A significant addition to GIFEC’s interventions during Mr. Sefah’s tenure is the Ghana Digital Acceleration Project (GDAP) – a World Bank-funded project, which will finance free broadband access in Unserved and Underserved communities. The project will establish 120 Highspeed Public Internet Access Points at select CICs by the end of 2027, at a rate of 30 Access Points per year, beginning this year, to serve public facilities such as Schools, Libraries, Health Clinics, as well as offer free Wi-Fi hotspots for community use. Also, about 10% of the funding of the project is geared towards increasing the digital skills of people within the beneficiary communities. The GDAP is expected to benefit an estimated 2 million Ghanaians. 

In his and the Board’s determination to improve work culture and productivity, Mr. Sefah has executed an independent Human Resource Audit, which is on track to be a final piece to a long-running effort on his part to effectively reorganise and realign the Human Resources of the organisation.

Under his leadership, there is also a multi-year plan to update the Internal Information Technology of GIFEC which has begun, to effectively interconnect all Regional Offices to the Head Office, in a Wide Area Network and provide tools to manage Staff working from all over the country, since GIFEC is a very field-oriented organisation. This effort is expected to markedly improve Staff communication, collaboration, and productivity. Through his efforts, the Fleet of the organisation is about to get the biggest boost ever, to improve operations.

A new Recognition and Awards Scheme to motivate Staff is also about to be launched, beginning 1st July, 2023. He has also implemented a lot of changes, including biometric and electronic time tracking and processes to improve professionalism and punctuality. During his tenure, much effort has also been put in to improve inclusivity, teamwork, communication, organisational climate, and the knowledge of Staff. To enhance Field Operations, he is establishing two (2) more Regional Offices, in the Upper East and Greater Accra Regions, to ensure that GIFEC has Offices in all the Regions of Ghana and becomes more nimble in its operations.

Working closely with the Board and the National Communications Authority (NCA), Mr. Sefah has presided over a significant increase (about 50%) in the Revenues of GIFEC, especially, with regards to promptly bringing in the statutory revenue contributions of the Tower Companies. He is also working assiduously to switch all GIFEC revenue contributors from annual to quarterly payments, such as the NCA had already been doing, to improve the revenues of the Organisation.