Abstract:
There is a new wave of optimism across Africa with the advent of open market and support of private enterprise by many governments after years of a tight public sector led development. Accompanying the euphoria of entrepreneurship is the phenomenon of tech start-ups. The study of tech-start-ups is still in its nascent stages in academic circles on the continent. There is limited literature on the prospects tech start-ups can have on socioeconomic development in Africa. As a result, this study was centred at finding role-played by tech start-ups on the socioeconomic development in Ghana in particular. The study employed the qualitative research methodology and relied on semi-structured interviews and observation to gain more insights into Ghana’s start-up ecosystem from major stakeholders in different components of the tech start-up ecosystem in Ghana. There was also a review of the relevant literature on the topic. The study found that the major roles of tech start-ups in Ghana are harnessing innovation, creation of jobs, and increased competition for firms. The major challenges that are obstacles to the prospects of tech start-ups were identified by the study included poor infrastructure, financial constraints, unfavourable regulations and an immature ecosystem. The study proposed recommendations which included the need to have more academic research on the significance of tech start-ups to Ghana’s development, the need for tech entrepreneurs to explore crowdfunding as a solution to their financial constraints and the need for annual reports on the state of the Ghanaian tech start-up ecosystem to help identify progress made and challenges. It is imperative to find solutions to these challenges to improve upon the ecosystem in Ghana and enhance their global competitiveness.
