President John Dramani Mahama has announced an immediate allocation of GH₵100 million to support the operational launch of the Ghana National Research Fund for 2026.
This investment, according to him, is a modest but necessary starting point for building Ghana’s knowledge economy.
In his address at launch, President Mahama noted that the initial allocation would support competitive national research grants, doctoral and postdoctoral research programmes, digital grants management systems, strategic innovation initiatives, and priority research programmes aligned with national development objectives.
He directed the Ministry of Education, in collaboration with the GETFund and the fund’s governing board, to ensure the transparent, accountable, and results-oriented deployment of the resources.
The President said the allocation, while modest, was a beginning, noting that, at one percent of Ghana’s current GDP of 114 billion dollars, Ghana should ideally be investing the equivalent of around 600 million dollars or six billion cedis annually in research and development, in line with the African Union’s target.
He said that the figure need not come from government alone and called on international partners to contribute.
“Nobody says Ghana should provide all that money. With our international partners, we should be able to raise sufficient funds,” he said.
He however, flagged a misalignment between Ghana’s existing legal framework and the AU target, noting that Act 1056 caps research spending at not more than 0.5 percent of GDP, half of what the AU recommends. He said, that needed to be reviewed.
President Mahama also directed the Ministries of Finance, Education, Environment, Science and Technology to progressively operationalise the statutory financing framework established under Act 1056.
He further requested the Ministers of Finance and Education to submit Ghana’s Expression of Interest to the World Bank for participation in the ACE Innovate initiative.
Ghana’s participation, the President noted, must be strategically integrated with the National Research Fund to ensure stronger national coordination and accountability for results.
He said the most successful economies in the world were not necessarily those with the greatest natural wealth but those that had consistently invested in research, technology, innovation, and human capital development.
“Every major technological breakthrough, from modern medicine and telecommunications to artificial intelligence and biotechnology, had been made possible by deliberate government investment in research.
“Nations are ultimately shaped not only by what they inherit, but by what they choose to invest in,” he added.
Richard Aniagyei, ISD
