Private sector must co-invest in data production – Deputy Finance Minister

The private sector must co-invest in data production to facilitate national development, the Deputy Finance Minister, Thomas Nyarko Ampem, has said.

According to him, the government alone could not bear the cost of producing data for planning and decision-making.

Mr Ampem said the data economy presented enormous opportunities, ranging from fintech innovation and precision agriculture to consumer analytics and credit scoring, and stressed that it was important for the private sector to support the data industry.

Mr Ampem made the call during the annual forum for data producers, users and enhancers, organised by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) on the theme, “Financing Innovations in Data and Statistics for Sustainable and Inclusive Development,” and said the country’s data systems are heavily donor funded.

He noted that the private sector stood to benefit significantly from robust data systems.

The forum brought together key stakeholders to discuss strategies for deepening government commitment to financing data, leveraging new technologies for data production, and improving visibility, accessibility and use of statistics for policymaking, practice and programming.

According to the Deputy Finance Minister, the programme marked an important milestone in efforts to place high-quality data at the centre of national development and inclusive progress.

Mr Ampem said Ghana’s changing development landscape, characterised by economic uncertainties, climate pressures, rapid technological change and increasing demand for accountability, made credible data indispensable.

Without reliable statistics, he said, planning became speculative, policymaking inefficient and development outcomes uneven.

Mr Ampem said government was doing well to promote a robust data ecosystem.

He said the country conducted recently West Africa’s first fully digital Population and Housing Census, the institutionalisation of high-frequency surveys providing real-time insights, expansion of enterprise and agricultural statistics, integration of geospatial and data-science methods, and deployment of digital dissemination tools such as StatsBank and the Ghana Stats App.

The forthcoming National Strategy for the Development of Statistics (2026–2030) and the Power of Data Initiative, he said, would address structural gaps and guide long-term investment in data innovation.

Mr Ampem underscored the importance of sustainable financing, stressing that data must be viewed as an investment rather than a cost.

The Minister emphasised that every dollar invested in data could yield up to $32 in economic returns.

He revealed that the 2026 Budget had allocated GH¢207 million to support key statistical operations, including national surveys and economic indicator reforms.

In his remarks, the Government Statistician, Dr Alhasan Iddrisu, said a nation “becomes what it measures, what it funds and what it chooses to understand,” adding that sustainable development required sustainable data.

The Government Statistician lauded the government for huge allocation it made to the GSS for data production in the 2026 Budget, saying it was a significant step that recognised data as essential infrastructure.

Dr Iddrisu called on development partners, the private sector, policymakers and citizens to champion data use, invest in innovation and strengthen Ghana’s statistical ecosystem to drive inclusive national development.

Dr Iddrisu said the forum explored financing models, examined innovations, and took feedback from the private sector, researchers, development partners, and civil society.

The Co-chair of the GSSDP, Dr Wilfred Ochan, commended GSS for the role it was playing to provide quality data for planning and decision-making.

He pledged the commitment of the country’s development partners to support data production to accelerate national development.

BY KINGSLEY ASARE

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