Adnan Adams Mohammed
A top banker has cautioned businesses to take cognizance of the inherent risks associated with digital transformation; such as cyber-security, fraud, data and privacy breaches.
While describing Ghana’s digital transformation agenda as laudable, he called for the need to continually invest in security infrastructure and other capacity building opportunities to keep all stakeholders abreast of the risks.
This comes after the Vice President challenged Chief Executives of Government agencies and business leaders to embrace the tide of digitization and infuse their operations with innovative digital technology to drive business evolution and for survival. As he encouraged them to focus on building sustainable businesses and help build an economy that will remain resilient even in the face of unpredictable occurrences such as the Covid-19 pandemic.
“While pursuing digitalisation goals, we must take cognisance of the inherent risks associatedwith digital transformation; such as cyber-security, fraud, data and privacy breaches”, Managing Director of GCB Bank, Mr. Kofi Adomakoh cautioned businesses when addressing the 5th CEO Summit in Accra, last week, in the presence of Vice-President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
The GCB MD noted that, while the government of Ghana has put in place policies and structures through institutions like the Data Protection Commission to safeguard personal data, corporate organisations also have a responsibility.
He pointed out that Ghana’s digitilisation drive could be anchored strategically around three interrelated stakeholder points. These include; digitally-enabled government, a digitally-enabled private sector, and a digitally-enabled citizenry.
“A credible and comprehensive identity system has implications for every aspect of our national life; from mitigating identity fraud, fighting crime and improving tax compliance,” he added.
Mr. Adomakoh explained that, apart from being the foundation for a more comprehensive digitalisation strategy, it will unlock new levels of credit access and provide the platform for building a reliable credit scoring system.
He expressed excitement at the addition of digitisation to the name of Ministry of Communications, saying it will give impetus to Ghana’s Africa Beyond Aid goal of becoming a leader in innovative digital technology by2023.
The Vice President, also speaking at the 5th Ghana CEOs Summit, said it is absolutely imperative to reset and reignite business and the economy in these times, to ensure continuous growth and development of the Ghanaian economy after the devastating effects of Covid 19.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated ample systemic flaws in the way we do things, including the way we conduct business, thereby requiring us to re-think and re-orient ourselves and our businesses. We cannot succeed if we hold on to the old ways of doing things. If we want to survive, we will have to dwell on the lessons learnt from the pandemic going forward” he indicated.
“In our bid to reset business and the economy, digitization has an enormous role to play. One of the lessons the pandemic has taught us is that digitization is the future; a future that perhaps started yesterday. Businesses will by necessity have to integrate appropriate digital technologies in their operations and service delivery in order to increase productivity and output.”
Dr Bawumia emphasized: “The pandemic has presented a much-needed opportunity with which we can reset the economy, while still building upon the solid foundation already laid. It has also taught us that businesses are intimately connected with society, and such intimate connection will require businesses to be responsive to the needs of all stakeholders.”
“The government of President Nana Akufo-Addo,” Dr Bawumia pledged, “remains focused on building an economy that is underpinned by digitization. We have made progress on our enablers. We are beginning to see the dividends in Passport services, Driving License, the integration of the National ID with Health Insurance, with the implementation of initiatives like mobile money interoperability, the paperless port systems, digital property addressing system and many others.
