President and Chairman of Groupe Nduom, Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom
President and Chairman of Groupe Nduom (GN), Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom, has called on Ghanaians to take advantage of the digital revolution which the world has embraced and not leave the opportunities there to foreigners only to takeover.
According to him, if Ghanaians refuse to take advantage of the migration and allow foreigners to dominate the transition, especially with regard to television, a time would come when they will control and determine programme and content for the people.
This concern also relates to digital currency, he added.
He asked government to open the way to allow its ministries, departments and agencies to accept mobile money as payment for taxes, passport forms, drivers’ licences, etc.
Dr. Nduom said this on Saturday on his weekly programme: “Ghana Great and Strong” on the topic: “The digital age and how it is affecting our lives.”
He urged Ghanaian companies and individuals to invest and support Ghanaians who are developing innovative solutions in this area.
“These days everybody wants to go digital and there is a reason for it. There is digital radio, digital television station and now we have digital currency and all sorts of digital aspects of our lives,” he stated.
He explained that digital revolution needs both the private sector and the government to recognise and support Ghanaian digital products.
According to Dr. Nduom, as part of his group’s quest to make good use of the digital age, GN will soon introduce an application dubbed: “PayGlobal” which will enable Ghanaians who travel abroad to enjoy automatic convertion of their money in their mobile wallets into any currency.
Throwing more light on the application, the president and chairman of GN said: “you only need to upload the device and load money onto your phone with a credit or debit card or ATM cash and inside the system is the currency converter that allows you to convert your Cedis into any foreign currency to enable you do business.”
He revealed that recently GN developed an “FD Mobile app” that allows one to watch local television on their mobile phones anytime and anywhere in the world.
“If Groupe Nduom has been able to do it why can’t we support them? Or if any individual Ghanaian or company is able to do same why can’t we support him/her in other to promote local content?”’ he asked.
He noted that a new digital currency was going to take over the country and a product like PayGlobal and GN Mobile Money should be supported to become global products.
“My quest is that we in Ghana will find a product we can say we designed and developed and implemented it and has become global. The fundamental beginning of digital currency is the mobile money which is part of the digital revolution that is taking place worldwide,” he said.
The world, Dr. Nduom said, was moving into a digital economy and that Ghanaian companies should grab the opportunity now.
“We should not wait till later and come and blame foreign companies and individuals,” he indicated.
He explained that technology and innovation could be anywhere regardless of boundaries.
Holding up a 50-Ghana Cedi note, Dr. Nduom explained, was difficult, if not impossible, to take that note to Abidjan, London, Tokyo and Cape Town and expect to be able to use it to shop there.
However, he said that money in a PayGlobal wallet can be used as digital currency and accepted for shopping anywhere in the world.
He announced that from the beginning of this month [September], Groupe Nduom has gone cashless.
“The cash in petty cash has been abolished. Direct bank account to bank account transfers, use of mobile money products like GN Mobile Money (*712#), MTN Mobile Money and others will be used. All Groupe Nduom companies will accept mobile money as payment for goods and services provided.
“We are practicing what we preach,” he added.
