Ghana has officially validated its first National E-Commerce Strategy following a national workshop hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry (MoTAI) in partnership with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
The workshop marked a significant step in Ghana’s digital transformation agenda, as the country moves to leverage online commerce for economic inclusion and sustainable development.
According to MoTAI, the strategy aims to confront systemic and trade-related barriers while boosting the competitiveness of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
The event brought together stakeholders from government, private sector, academia, civil society, and development agencies to review and validate the draft strategy.
The formulation of the strategy is grounded in the findings of the eTrade Readiness Assessment conducted by UNCTAD in 2023, following a formal request from the Ministry. The report, published in November that year, identified major gaps in policy, infrastructure, and institutional coordination that were limiting the growth of Ghana’s e-commerce ecosystem.
In March 2024, the Ministry again reached out to UNCTAD for technical assistance in developing a “holistic national framework for digital trade.”
It added that the process reflects a shared commitment to align Ghana’s trade policy with the demands of the digital age.
One of the key structures announced during the workshop is the creation of an E-commerce and Digital Trade National Steering Committee.
The committee, which will include representatives from both public and private sectors, academia, and civil society, is expected to oversee the implementation of the strategy, evaluate its effectiveness, and ensure inter-sectoral policy coherence.
Credit: THEVAULTZNEWS