Ghana needs AI engineers and data scientists, not just computing infrastructure – Hubtel CEO
The Chief Executive Officer of Hubtel, Alex Bram, has urged the government to match its planned investments in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure with funding for specialised training, warning that Ghana's shortage of skilled professionals could undermine efforts to develop a competitive AI industry.
He believes investment in computing infrastructure alone will not be sufficient to drive the country's AI ambitions without the engineers, data scientists and technical personnel needed to develop, operate and maintain such systems.
Mr Bram says Ghana must pay particular attention to building expertise in machine learning, data science and data centre management as it prepares to establish a national AI compute centre.
“The money is extremely important. The money to set up the starting data centres and the architecture and the infrastructure around it is very important. But whilst we do that, I think we also have to look at the skills,” he said.
Speaking in an interview ahead of the second episode of the Digital Economy Forum, Mr Bram drew on Hubtel's own experience to explain why developing the country's technical workforce must be treated as a priority alongside investment in physical infrastructure.
He disclosed that the company struggled to recruit qualified machine learning engineers when it began developing its own AI systems, despite offering attractive employment packages.
The challenge, he believes, exposes a skills gap Ghana must address if it intends to compete in the rapidly expanding global AI economy.
The availability of specialised skills, investment in AI infrastructure and the implications of the technology for Ghana's workforce will form part of discussions at the second episode of the Digital Economy Forum, under the theme “AI and the Ghana Economy: Opportunity or Disruption?”
The forum, held in partnership with Hubtel, will feature the Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, Sam George; Economist and Technical Advisor at the Finance Ministry, Dr Theo Acheampong; Founder of AI for Ghana, Adam Watkins; Head of Engineering at Hubtel, Augustine Adjei; and Vice President of IMANI Africa, Bright Simons.
It will air live on JoyNews and Joy 99.7 FM on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, at 8 p.m.
Hubtel struggled to recruit 30 AI engineers
Mr Bram revealed that Hubtel began experimenting with artificial intelligence in 2022 before establishing an AI laboratory in 2023 to develop its own models.
The company initially sought to build AI systems using machine learning and neural network technologies, with the ambition of developing solutions tailored to local business needs.
However, the initiative encountered difficulties when Hubtel attempted to recruit the technical professionals required to undertake the work.
“One, we struggled with manpower. So when we started, we wanted to recruit, I believe it was about 30 machine learning engineers. We just couldn't find 30 in Ghana,” he disclosed.
According to him, the company increased its recruitment budget substantially in an attempt to attract qualified professionals, but the effort yielded limited results.
“We increased the budget almost twice, and we still couldn't find machine learning data scientists who were from Ghana. We offered very generous terms. We still couldn't find, so our tech was a bit behind,” he explained.
Mr Bram said the difficulties affected Hubtel's ability to advance its own AI technology at a time when international companies were rapidly developing and commercialising more sophisticated systems.
By late 2024 and into 2025, commercially available AI models had become considerably more advanced and affordable, making it increasingly difficult for Hubtel to justify continuing along its original development path.
The company eventually moved away from building its own models from scratch towards adopting commercially available AI technologies.
For Mr Bram, the experience highlights the challenge Ghanaian technology companies could face without a larger pool of trained AI specialists.
Beyond the proposed AI compute centre
The government's national AI strategy includes plans to establish an AI compute centre intended to provide the computing capacity required to support the development and deployment of artificial intelligence applications.
Communications Minister Sam George has disclosed that the government has committed US$250 million towards the first phase of the facility, alongside US$20 million for a proposed AI fund.
Mr Bram welcomed the initiative, describing Ghana's decision to develop an AI policy framework and invest in infrastructure as an important step.
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However, he maintained that the country must also develop the specialised human resources required to make the investment productive.
“As a country, we haven't been strong at having a large base of, for example, people that can manage data centres. There are so few data centres here. I think that number needs to go up a little bit. There's also the skills required to build it,” he observed.
He identified machine learning and data science as areas requiring greater investment in technical capacity.
“Machine learning, data scientists. We need those skills. And I think we might have to improve our efforts on getting the skills,” he said.
Data availability another challenge
Beyond the shortage of skilled professionals, Mr Bram identified access to data as another obstacle Hubtel encountered in its attempts to develop AI systems locally.
He explained that the company approached other large businesses to explore data-sharing arrangements but struggled because there was no clear framework governing how the information could be exchanged.
“We realised there's still no framework in Ghana for sharing data,” he said.
According to him, the uncertainty made companies reluctant to share information, limiting Hubtel's ability to obtain the data required to improve its AI models.
He consequently urged the government to develop arrangements that would encourage the retention and appropriate sharing of useful data to support AI development.
“So that data framework is important. If that AI compute centre is to succeed, because when a computer centre is there, without the data, it's nothing,” he stressed.
Mr Bram believes Ghana must therefore address three interconnected requirements: computing infrastructure, access to data and the availability of skilled professionals.
Ghana has an opportunity to get it right
Despite the challenges Hubtel encountered, Mr Bram remains optimistic about Ghana's prospects in artificial intelligence.
He believes the government's decision to develop a national strategy and commit resources to the sector provides an opportunity to address existing gaps before they become greater obstacles.
The Hubtel CEO wants deliberate investment in technical skills to extend beyond the development of national infrastructure to support the adoption of AI by businesses of different sizes.
“I think Ghana is well on the path. I mean, starting with the policy building, putting some money where the policy is heading towards, investing deliberately in the skills, the digital skills required to manage and build and translate and take this AI out to, or this new technology out to everybody else, mass enterprises, micro enterprises and all that. I think we're already on the path and that's critical,” he indicated.
He argued that training the workforce would be essential to ensuring that the benefits of the technology reach smaller enterprises and other productive sectors of the economy.
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