Accra, Ghana//-The recent introduction of Artificial Intelligence (AI) strategies across developed and developing countries is not enough.
The World Bank Group’s Acting Director of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and Digital Services, Madam Stela Mocan, says this during the 2026 Webinar Series dubbed ‘Transformation Dialogues’.
According to her, it is important to have an AI strategy, but that is not enough.
She added: “Adjusting the organisation of the government, or if we talk about the economy of the country that controls the big and small enterprises, they are readjusting their organisational structures to make sure that they are leveraging the AI capabilities”.
While the people, the skills sector, the AI governance, engineering capabilities, and AI ready data are very important, policymakers should not lose sight of deploying AI for the benefit of all.
The lesson from global experience is clear: AI delivers value only when the foundations are in place.
Those foundations are digital public infrastructure — ID, payments, data exchange — plus sound data governance, institutional capacity, skills, and, above all, public trust.
Done well, AI makes services more inclusive and responsive. Done poorly, it can erode trust and deepen divides. Getting the sequence and the safeguards right is the work.
“And what we see across countries of course, investing in the AI data, AI-ready infrastructure is very important. Having our team on the ground working with the local partners is also our commitment to work together to improve AI adoption”.
She agreed with the other speakers that AI and digital innovation are changing how governments everywhere deliver services and the gap between countries that prepare and those that don’t would widen quickly.
For Ghana, Madam Mocan noted the country has been doing well in terms of building an AI foundational digital building bloc and the recent introduction of the country’s national AI strategy.
The strategy has been put out to guide the country’s actions and investments, among others. So, it is a good framework to follow, she said.
The Division Director of the World Bank Group, Robert Taliercio, in his welcome remarks, said: “For Ghana and the region, the opportunity is concrete: faster, more accessible, higher-quality public services — in digital ID and payments, health, agriculture, education, and tax administration”.
This is fundamentally about growth and jobs. Better digital public services lower the cost of doing business, expand access for citizens and firms, and create the foundation for a competitive, transforming economy, he explained.
“Ghana is already moving — advancing its digital transformation agenda, building digital public infrastructure, and now developing a national AI strategy”.
The World Bank, Mr Taliercio assured, is a committed partner in this journey, including through the Ghana Digital Acceleration Project, supporting the platforms, capabilities, and governance that responsible AI requires.
“Our role is to help connect Ghana to global knowledge and experience — which is exactly what today’s panel offers”.
Also speaking at the joint webinar series organised by the Bank, the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET) and the Institute of Social and Statistical and Economic Research (ISSER) of the University of Ghana, the Director of Technical Services at the National Information Technology Agency (NITA), Solomon Kofi Richardson, Solomon Kofi Richardson, was emphatic that Ghana has the momentum to lead in the AI space in Africa.
He explained that the foundations are being laid, while the opportunity now is to sequence them with the safeguards that make AI trusted.
The two other speakers, Rob Floyd, Director of Innovation and Digital Policy at ACET, and James Stewart, Partner and Chief Technology Officer at Public Digital, admitted that AI and digital innovation are reshaping how governments deliver services to citizens and businesses.
So, for Ghana and other African countries, AI offers significant opportunities to improve the efficiency, accessibility, and quality of public services—from digital identity and payments to health, agriculture, and tax administration.
Yet realising this potential requires more than technology: it depends on foundational digital public infrastructure (DPI), sound data governance, institutional capacity, skills, and public trust.
The webinar, which was moderated by a Senior Digital Specialist of the World Bank Group, Stephen Davenport, aimed to stimulate public dialogue on the opportunities, risks, and practical requirements of deploying AI in public sector services in Ghana and across Africa.
The webinar theme- ‘Digital Innovation and the Role of AI in Public Sector Services’ brought together policymakers, global practitioners, think tanks, academics, and the wider public to share international experience and Ghanaian perspectives on building AI-ready, citizen-centred digital government.
