MTN Ghana has launched the second edition of its flagship innovation festival, MTN DigiFest 2026, alongside a three-day Tech Fair, as part of efforts to promote innovation, digital skills and collaboration across Ghana’s technology ecosystem.
The festival brings together technology companies, startups, academia, entrepreneurs, students, and other stakeholders to showcase emerging technologies, explore new digital opportunities, and develop solutions to challenges facing businesses and communities.
The Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George, officially opened the Tech Fair at MTN House in Accra, marking the start of a month-long programme that will run into October.
The Tech Fair features digital solutions and emerging technologies from MTN Ghana and its ecosystem partners, including the University of Ghana, local startups, and other technology companies.
The broader DigiFest programme features panel discussions, conferences, workshops, focus groups, masterclasses, and immersive experiences, as well as specialised events on gaming, artificial intelligence, and UI/UX design.
The festival will also culminate in the grand finale of the MTN-University of Ghana AI Hackathon, which is focused on developing practical artificial intelligence solutions for local challenges.
MTN Pushes for Ghana to Become Digital Solutions Hub
The Chief Executive Officer of MTN Ghana, Mr Stephen Blewett, said Ghana had the talent, ideas, and growing technology ecosystem needed to become a major producer of digital solutions for Africa and the global market.
He said the rapid pace of technological change was creating significant opportunities for countries and businesses prepared to embrace innovation, but stressed that the focus should be on solutions that address genuine customer needs.
“Why do I say that? Because we have highly educated people who have amazing ideas. We need to bring those ideas to the market, not just in Ghana, to Africa and the world. It’s not just one person or one company that can do that,” he said.
Mr Blewett said MTN Ghana’s digital business was growing at approximately 98 per cent year-on-year, making it the third-largest digital business within the MTN Group. He challenged the company’s digital team to build on that growth and work towards becoming the leading digital business in the Group.
However, he cautioned against equating innovation with technological complexity, arguing that digital products must ultimately improve customers’ lives. Using an advanced smart toothbrush as an example, he said some products could become unnecessarily complicated when developers failed to consider convenience and the overall customer experience.
“You have to carry a box about this big to travel with your toothbrush. So I think we’re trying to find solutions for real-world problems. But what’s important is the experience of the customer. The interface is extremely important. The UI/UX is really important,” he said.
Mr Blewett said MTN’s own Mobile Money platform demonstrated how digital technology could be used to address everyday challenges, adding that data and artificial intelligence were opening new opportunities for businesses and consumers.
He noted that MTN’s data ecosystem could help the company better understand customer behaviour and develop more personalised services, while AI could support areas such as customer experience and cybersecurity.
“Using data, using that for understanding human behaviour, developing offerings that are unique to individuals, using AI for good because AI can be useful and not so good as well. Using AI to counter cybersecurity issues — all those things are part of the digital evolution,” he said.
He subsequently called on stakeholders across the technology ecosystem to work together to ensure Ghana played a central role in Africa’s digital future.
“My call to all of us is: Are you prepared to step up and be part of putting Ghana at the centre of what happens in the digital space?” he asked.
DigiFest to Turn Ideas Into Solutions
MTN Ghana’s Chief Digital Officer, Ibrahim Misto, said DigiFest was an important component of the company’s digital transformation strategy and its effort to encourage innovation beyond conventional technology roles.
Reflecting on MTN Ghana’s journey, Mr Misto said the country’s technological landscape had changed significantly, with artificial intelligence, fintech, cloud computing, data and digital productivity tools now increasingly integrated into everyday life.
“If you told a business it could sell to the world, or that an AI agent could do your work, they would say that’s impossible. But here we are,” he said.
He said the pace of technological change made it difficult to predict what the next decade would look like, but argued that the future would be shaped by people willing to identify problems and act on new ideas.
“Innovation is not restricted to a role or a function. It starts with a question you ask, or a problem you identify, or a pattern that you see with a different angle or a different lens, and then having the courage and being bold to act on it,” he said.
According to Mr Misto, DigiFest provides opportunities for participants to gain practical skills, explore new technologies, and collaborate with partners, customers, employees, and communities.
MTN Ghana will showcase solutions across areas including gaming, streaming, television, applications, home solutions, cloud technology, and enterprise services.
AI Hackathon Targets Local Challenges
A major component of the festival is the MTN-University of Ghana AI Hackathon, which seeks to develop practical AI applications with potential uses in areas such as agriculture and healthcare.
Mr Misto said the initiative would also explore local-language solutions, reflecting the need for artificial intelligence applications to respond to Ghana’s specific social and economic environment.
He added that SMEs and entrepreneurs would equally benefit from masterclasses and capacity-building activities designed to strengthen their digital skills and ability to participate in the technology ecosystem.
MoMo Seeks Deeper Financial Inclusion
The push for practical digital solutions extends to financial technology, where MobileMoney Ltd is seeking to move customers beyond basic money transfers towards broader access to financial services.
The Chief Commercial Operations Officer of MobileMoney Ltd, Abdul Razak Ali, said digital innovation would have little value if it did not solve real financial challenges.
“When you say digital, when you say digital innovation, that is meaningless unless it’s solving real problems for customers,” he said.
Mr Ali said MoMo had contributed significantly to financial inclusion by enabling customers to transfer and store money digitally, but noted that the next phase should provide easier access to savings, lending, investment, and insurance services.
“We have deepened financial inclusion, we have a lot of people using MoMo, but a lot of people are still using just the basic stuff,” he said.
He said technologies such as artificial intelligence and application programming interfaces would be important in expanding financial services, improving customer experience, and strengthening fraud prevention.
Partnerships Key to Cash-Lite Economy
Mr Ali said Ghana’s transition towards a cash-lite economy could not be achieved by MobileMoney Ltd alone and would require stronger collaboration among financial institutions and other industry players.
“A cash-lite economy cannot be delivered just by MoMo. It has to be delivered in conjunction with all our partners: the banks, the insurance players, the pension companies,” he said.
He noted that the growing range of financial products in the market also made digital applications increasingly important, as USSD platforms could not efficiently deliver every service.
According to him, the recently relaunched MoMo fintech app and MoMo consumer app would provide platforms through which partner institutions could offer customers a wider range of financial products and services.
He concluded that the ultimate measure of MoMo’s digital transformation would be its contribution to innovation and Ghana’s transition towards a cash-lite economy.
A Platform for Ghana’s Digital Future
MTN DigiFest 2026 arrives as artificial intelligence, fintech, cloud computing, data, and other technologies rapidly reshape economies and businesses.
More so, beyond showcasing new technologies, the festival seeks to create stronger connections among industry, academia, startups, government, and consumers to accelerate the development and adoption of locally relevant digital solutions.
For Ghana, the opportunity lies not only in adopting technologies developed elsewhere but also in using its growing pool of talent and innovation to create solutions for African markets.
The success of that ambition, however, will depend on whether ideas generated through initiatives such as DigiFest can be converted into viable products, businesses, and services capable of delivering measurable economic and social impact.
Source: Isaac Kofi Dzokpo
