Internet Usage in Ghana

If for any reason you do not know anything about different parts of the world, just remember that Ghana is a country located close to the centre of the universe…..

However, the location of Ghana is not my reason for this post, and in order to spare you the interesting bits about the location Ghana finds itself in, I leave that research to you. After all, you have the internet at your disposal.

History of the Internet in Ghana

Six years after the global commercialization of the internet in the 1990s, Ghana became one of the first countries in sub-Saharan Africa to gain Internet access. Thereafter, internet service providers and internet cafes began to grow rapidly in Ghana, especially between 1998 and 2000 due to the lower percentage of the population owning personal computers. This meant that, an individual had to go to the internet café to have access to the internet.

Current Internet penetration in Ghana

After more than a decade down the line, the rate of internet penetration indicated by Internet World Stats has increased rapidly which accounts for about 19.6% as of December 2014, compared to a 4.2% penetration five years before.

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A much recent report by global digital agencies, We Are Social and Hootsuite, indicated that about 10 million Ghanaians use the internet.

Businesses and individuals in Ghana have come to depend on the internet for more than a source of information and leisure purposes as previously was but for expanding their business outreach and to stay connected with loved ones who may be a few miles or thousands of miles away from them. The internet is also being used to gather data, share information, educate, upload and download files as well.

Social Media Networks like Facebook and WhatsApp has increased the number of people who use internet and has also expanded the demographic of internet users in Ghana. The emergence of platform economies like Uber and Urb-Ride, among others have also contributed to the realization of the increasing importance of internet access among Ghanaians, and the possibilities of e-commerce platforms such as Tonaton.com and Olx.com.gh have made internet usage in major cities in Ghana nearly a necessity.

However, access and literacy involving the use and importance of digital technologies and internet usage is not a topmost priority for most people in other parts of the country as compared to other factors such as cultural and social factors.

Social Media use in Ghana

The increasing use of Social Media Networks amongst Ghanaians is an undeniable phenomenon as individuals, businesses and government agencies have explored the potential of this powerful internet tool to achieve their respective objectives.

In Ghana, there is a proliferation of western social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat amongst others.

As indicated in the image below, as of January 2018, WhatsApp (30%) was the most used Social Media Platform in Ghana, followed by Facebook (28%) with Pinterest (3%) and Viber (2%) being the least used social networking platform in Ghana.

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Sharing Economies in Ghana

There is currently limited research to finding out the total number of sharing economies in Ghana. However, ride hailing services such as Uber, Easy-Taxi, and some Ghanaian owned services such as Urb-Ride have proliferated the capital city in Ghana, Accra.

One of the first stories I wrote as a student journalist which was published in
Ghana’s leading and largest newspaper publishing company was about the Uber’s introduction in the Ghanaian market in 2016. Thereafter other Ghanaian-owned ride-hailing services such as Urb-Ride emerged the year after in 2017.

E-Commerce in Ghana

There have been significant improvements in the availability eCommerce platforms in Ghana as the rate of internet usage increases by day in Ghana. Individual entrepreneurs use the internet to purchase all sort of products and request for services in all forms.

Financial services in Ghana have also been a major tool in introducing a lot of Ghanaians to the need to engage in online purchases as very few Ghanaians prefer to purchase online due to lack of trust in inline services.

The introduction of special Visa and MasterCard services by some local banks has improved online business practices in Ghana. Mobile money also plays an important and ever growing role in financial transactions throughout the country.

Tonaton; a local dialect (Twi) which literally means ‘buy and sell’ was launched in early 2013, and is Ghana’s largest e-commerce platform. Tonaton is ranked as the 33^rd most popular website in Ghana, behind other eCommerce options like Alibaba and eBay.

The internet has provided endless possibilities for individuals, businesses and governmental institutions in Ghana, and as the years go by, one can attest to the fact that there is more to what the internet can offer to people in Ghana and in all parts of the world.