Africa's digital future at risk without reliable electricity - Richard Hagan

Richard Hagan, a highly accomplished Ghanaian entrepreneur, politician, scholar, philanthropist, and global strategic consultant, has disclosed that Africa’s aspirations for a digital future are at risk of being dashed without reliable electricity.

The Ghanaian entrepreneur made this remark recently in a thought-provoking speech at the Global Digitalization Development Conference held in Washington, USA. Richard Hagan, along with other world politicians, businessmen, and women, shared their expertise during the conference.

During his presentation, Mr. Hagan highlighted the importance of African leaders taking proactive measures to ensure that their countries can properly integrate into the rapidly evolving digitalization space. Mr. Hagan emphasized the need for African leaders to prioritize investments in digital infrastructure, human capital development, and policy reforms that support innovation and entrepreneurship.

He also stressed the importance of fostering partnerships between the public and private sectors, as well as collaborating with one another and with other global players. Mr. Hagan's insights were well-received by the attendees at the conference, who recognized the tremendous potential of the African continent to become a major player in the global digital economy.

With Mr. Hagan's global experience in the Energy and Technology sector, he also shared ideas on how Africa can align its Energy Sector with its Digital Technological Development Strategies. According to Richard Hagan, the realization of Africa's full digitization potential is contingent upon a stable electricity power supply. The absence of such a supply, he warns, would impede the continent's ability to achieve this aim. This observation highlights the pressing need for reliable power infrastructure in Africa, which is essential for unlocking the potential of digital transformation. Hagan's statement underscores the critical role played by energy infrastructure in facilitating technological advancement and serves as a reminder of the many challenges that must be overcome to achieve digital transformation in Africa.

He also emphasized that a reliable power supply is crucial for Africa to achieve its digital aspirations. Technology plays a significant role in many aspects of life in today's world, and Africa is no exception. However, without access to consistent power, it becomes challenging for African nations to develop and implement the necessary infrastructure to support their growing digital economy. Therefore, it is essential to establish a stable power supply to ensure progress and development on the continent.

"Energy supplies in African countries must stay in parallel with digitalization activities, and without a stable and consistent level of electricity supply, the digitalization development endeavors will suffer," he said. He urged African leaders to pay much attention to their Energy Sectors so that the continent can develop in digitalization faster to increase trade and economic growth. He noted that African countries like Ghana are still in the process of engaging in e-commerce and other digital technology activities reaching out to the international markets with products and services.

"The only way to advance in Global Digitalization Development, especially in Africa, is to improve and stabilize its energy supply in each country by adopting strategic plans and international relationships with advanced countries with stable energy supplies like China, the USA, etc.," he added.

Before taking leave of the stage, Mr. Hagan encouraged foreign investors from China, the USA, India, and other parts of the world to invest in African countries, especially Ghana, because the Ghanaian government has already embarked on its digital transformation, which is very important in building an energy-efficient and energy-intelligent medium so that the lives of the citizens, communities, corporate bodies, and government bodies will be better.

His message serves as a call to action for African leaders to take bold steps toward building a vibrant and inclusive digital ecosystem that can unlock new opportunities for growth, development, and prosperity for all Africans.

As a passionate politician, Richard Hagan has aspirations of becoming a Parliamentary Aspirant for the Okaikwei South Constituency under the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the near future. He qualified from the vetting stage to participate in the primaries but was later disqualified from partaking in the elections after vetting due to some unknown reasons. Despite this setback, Mr. Hagan remains committed to his political ambitions and looks forward to future opportunities to serve the Okaikwei South Constituency.