Mahama launches Ghana National Research Fund to drive industrial transformation
President John Dramani Mahama has launched the Ghana National Research Fund, describing it as a major intervention to close long-standing financing gaps in research and strengthen the country’s push toward industrialisation and economic transformation.
Speaking at the launch on Tuesday, June 16, the President said the initiative forms part of government’s broader “resetting agenda” and its drive for accelerated industrial development.
He explained that the Fund is designed to provide sustainable and predictable financing for research, stressing that the development of local knowledge systems is essential to national progress.
According to him, the initiative builds on a vision that has evolved since Ghana’s independence and reflects the enduring conviction that science, technology, and research are central to national self-reliance.
“Today, Ghana affirms that research can no longer be treated as a peripheral activity. It must become one of the engines that drive our economic growth, our social progress, and our national competitiveness,” he said.
President Mahama traced the intellectual foundation of the Fund to Ghana’s first President, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, noting that he early on recognised the critical role of science, technology, and research in driving economic transformation. He said Nkrumah understood that industrialisation required more than resource extraction, stressing the need for Ghana to develop its own technologies and solutions to local challenges.
The President also acknowledged the contributions of former President John Evans Atta Mills, whom he said strongly championed science, technology, innovation, and research as a core pillar of national development, with that vision now realised through the establishment of the Fund.
He further noted that while the idea of a national research financing mechanism had long existed, what had been missing was a sustainable funding framework, now provided through Act 1056 of 2020.
He commended former President Nana Akufo-Addo for facilitating the passage and assent of the legislation, describing it as a crucial foundation for the establishment of the Fund.
He emphasised that in the 21st century, economic competitiveness is increasingly driven by ideas and innovation rather than natural resource endowment.
The President noted that major global breakthroughs in medicine, telecommunications, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, renewable energy, and manufacturing have all been driven by sustained investment in research.
He cautioned that Ghana cannot achieve industrial transformation while under-investing in knowledge creation, observing that researchers have long operated under severe financial constraints despite producing globally relevant work.
President Mahama said the Ghana National Research Fund is intended to address these structural challenges and align research with national development priorities.
