The founding CEO of the Chief Executives (CEO) Network Ghana, Ernest De-Graft Egyir, has emphasised the need for public-private sector partnerships to spur economic growth.

According to him, Ghana has been stuck in a cyclical pattern for many years, and despite this, the country has yet to establish a robust public sector regulatory framework, which he identifies as a significant problem.

He made these remarks at the 8th Ghana CEO Summit and CEO Excellence Awards held at the Kempinski Gold Coast Hotel on Monday, May 27.

This year's summit was themed: “Reigniting Business and Economic Growth: Charting a Path Forward; Economic Diversification and Artificial Intelligence Transformation. A Private-Public Sector CEO Dialogue & High Impact-Learn.”

The event was graced by highly distinguished personalities, including former President John Mahama, Minister of State at the Finance Ministry Abena Osie-Asare, along with 500 top CEOs, heads of state, entrepreneurs, business leaders, and policymakers from West Africa and around the world.

Mr Egyir said that the Ghana CEO Summit continues to be proactive and serves as an excellent platform to help Ghana achieve one of the best business regulatory environments, underscoring the significant impact of this year’s theme.

Commenting on the combination of Artificial Intelligence (AI) at this year’s summit, Mr Egyir noted that the CEO Summit has supported the government through its thought-leadership platform in the digitalisation drive led by Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and the current administration.

“We believe that it's a good platform to help propel Ghana to achieving one of the best business regulatory environment, hence the AI as an application and an outcome, a beneficial one of the digitalization policies that the country is still working on,” he said. 

In a Presidential Plenary Session on topics including economic agenda resetting, private sector development, economic growth, diversification, digitalisation, and AI, Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia underscored the importance of the private sector in driving Ghana's digitalisation efforts.

“Most of the things that we have done in the digital space has been through the private sector, whether it's the Ghana Card where you have the upfront loading by the private sector and then they make a fee, whether it's the same thing with the digital address system, the networking of the hospitals, Ghana.gov, all of these things have been spearheaded so the government is not uploading and spending upfront,” he said.

On his part, former President John Mahama emphasised the importance of collaboration to foster a supportive business environment and economic stability in Ghana. 

He stated that the convergence of economic diversification and artificial intelligence presents the nation with a unique opportunity to drive sustainable growth and prosperity.

The NDC flagbearer also called for an open and transparent regulatory framework to foster innovation and entrepreneurship. He highlighted the importance of collaboration between the private and public sectors, as well as academia, to achieve economic diversification and transformation.