Ghana will invest $270 million to build its artificial intelligence infrastructure, including a national language-processing model designed to keep sensitive government data out of foreign hands. The announcement came from Samuel Nartey George, the Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, during the Digital Economy Forum on AI and the Ghana Economy on Wednesday, October 21.
The majority of the investment, $250 million, will fund infrastructure and computing capacity, while $20 million will seed an AI fund to support development efforts. The project aims to counteract risks posed by government analysts inputting classified information into foreign AI platforms like ChatGPT and Claude.
“That for me represents a critical national risk because memos, government material, critical government sensitive data is being fed into these systems by analysts sitting in ministers’ offices to process that data,” Mr George said.
He questioned the impact of Ghana’s existing data residency law if government agencies continue to rely on overseas AI services to process confidential information. “Now we have a residency law that we’ve passed, but it’s useless if the government system itself is using a foreign AI model to do processing,” he added.
The government plans to develop what Mr George called the “Ghana Chat,” a domestic language-processing AI that would enable public institutions to harness AI capabilities while maintaining control over sensitive data. The model will start with limited sophistication compared to global platforms but is expected to improve through continued use and training.
“At start, will it be as effective as Claude and ChatGPT? Definitely not. But then the more you use it and the more you teach it, the more the machines learn, the better the system will get,” he said.
Mr George pointed out that existing AI systems have been trained on billions, if not trillions, of data points, which takes time and resources. He acknowledged questions and concerns about the initiative but expressed confidence in the government’s approach.
“So basically I see all the questions that are being raised, very legitimate questions, very legitimate issues, but I believe that we are on the right track to resolving all of those issues,” he said.
The plan to develop local AI infrastructure reflects a response to growing unease about data privacy and sovereignty in the digital age. Ghana’s effort to build a national AI model comes as governments worldwide wrestle with balancing innovation and security.
The $270 million investment represents one of the largest single commitments to AI by an African government. It aims to expand the country’s digital economy and reduce reliance on foreign technology platforms that handle sensitive state information.
According to Joy Online.
