The Chief Director of the Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI), Dr Patrick Nomo, has urged industries to work with researchers in Science and Technology to create innovations that will create jobs and wealth for a prosperous national economy.   

Highlighting the critical role of innovation in job creation across the globe, Dr Nomo said it was imperative for all stakeholders to collaborate effectively to get the National System of Innovation working to deliver jobs and growth. 

Dr Nomo said this when he opened a workshop on ‘Matchmaking and Information Sharing’ organised by MESTI, in collaboration with the Commission for Technical and Vocational Education Training (CTVET) at Aburi in the Eastern Region.

It brought together representatives of the private sector and technology developers to share information on available technologies and transfer mechanisms to enterprises.

This was to help explore opportunities in technology and innovation for job creation, especially, for the youth. 

The session also formed part of the technology and innovation sub-activities under the Ghana Jobs and Skills project, which MESTI is tasked to facilitate.

Referencing the success story of the fufu powder by the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), which has been commercialised into “Neat Fufu”, he stated that much could be achieved should industry adopt innovation.

“...We cannot ignore the jobs the product has created along the production and marketing value chain,” he noted.

He also mentioned the disruption that ride hailing services, using digital technology, was causing to the business of traditional taxis, saying lessons must be learnt for transformation.

The Chief Director, however, noted that there were “significant challenges” in the technology and innovation space, but the Ghana Jobs and Skills Project provided the opportunity to improve Ghana’s technology innovation capacity.

“As a Ministry just like CTVET, we have a special role to play in the creation of jobs just as CTVET has a special role to develop the requisite technical and vocational capacity for innovation and Jobs,” he said.

“You won’t see MESTI directly creating the employment opportunities, but you will see us creating and shaping new industries through the technologies we develop and transfer to the market.”

Dr Nomo expressed confidence that the workshop would provide participants “mindboggling ideas” to make a change for innovation.

Mr Kwabena Essilfie Quaison, Director of Science, Technology and Innovation, of MESTI, said the session was to explore “the millions of technologies sitting in technology databases for exploitation” and how it could enhance “Research and Development to generate commercially viable Intellectual properties for job creation”.

“Under the windows 3 and 4 of the Ghana Skills Development Fund, substantial funding allocation has been made for the application of Science and Technology by private enterprises to make them competitive,” he said.

“If this must be successful, there is the need to bring the representatives of the private sector and the main technology developers together to share information on available technologies and their transfer mechanisms to enterprises,” he explained.