The Ghana Domain Name Registry (GDNR) has advised businesses and other stakeholders to purchase domain names with the .gh extension in order to generate revenue and promote economic growth in the local internet industry.
The Board Chairperson of the Ghana Domain Name Registry, Rev. Dr. Nana Yaa Prempeh, stated that using the .gh domain is an act of patriotism and supports the growth of Ghanaian businesses and the nation as a whole.
“When you use .com, you are helping to generate revenue for another country but when you use .gh, you are supporting your own nation. If you are in a country and you don’t do anything to promote the growth of the country, then you are not fulfilling your duties as a citizen.”
Rev. Dr. Prempeh
In an interview following a meeting organized by the Ghana Domain Name Registry with the local internet community, Dr. Prempeh urged businesses and stakeholders to adopt the .gh domain, in addition to discussing the re-delegation process to manage the domain and ways to promote the local internet industry.
Additionally, Dr. Prempeh stated that the Registry plans to hold a meeting in March 2023 to educate stakeholders, such as businesses, companies, and individuals, on the importance of using “.gh ” domain names instead of “.com ” domain names.
Speaking about the mandate of the Registry, the Executive Director of GDNR, Nana Kofi Asafu-Aidoo, stated that the mandate of the Registry, as outlined in section 63 of the Electronics Transaction Act (ETA) 2008, is to manage the GH Domain as a public service for the benefit of the local internet community.
Nana Kofi stated that the Registry’s plans include administering in accordance with the ETA, accrediting and licensing registrars to participate in the ecosystem, and automating as many processes related to registering domain names as possible.
Other plans of the Registry include focusing on community building, creating awareness, and educating the public, as well as effectively collaborating with government agencies such as the Registrar General’s Department (RGD) and the National Information Technology Agency (NITA) to promote the use of the domain.
Mr. Asafu-Aidoo highlighted the significance of the meeting with stakeholders, noting that he was pleased with the positive feedback received from the local community and the valuable contributions they made during the re-delegation process.
Mr. Asafu-Aidoo made this statement while explaining the importance of the meeting with stakeholders.
Among the stakeholders who participated in the meeting are NITA, RGD, the Office of the Attorney General, the Ministry of the Interior, the National Communication Authority, and the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications.
Government Explores More Revenue Generation Measures
Revenue generation is now a key issue on the financial desk of the country. In a quest to generate more revenues, the government has decided to capitalize more on businesses in Ghana through education and growth support.
As its contribution towards revenue generation through business expansion, the National AfCFTA Coordination Office (NCO), earlier this week said it is doing all it can to support local companies and enterprises with export potentials to take advantage of the benefits under the continental trade regime.
The Coordinator of the NCO, Dr. Fareed K. Arthur, said that the organization aims to evaluate the export readiness of about 180 businesses.
“Out of the number, at least, 50 companies would be identified and supported to export under the AfCFTA regime.”
Dr. Arthur
Dr. Arthur passed these comments while speaking during a one-day sensitization workshop for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) at the Ketu North and South Municipalities of the Volta region, which was organized by the National Coordination Office of AfCFTA with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The workshop was aimed at encouraging cross-border traders and businesspeople harness the full benefits under the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
To achieve this objective, Dr. Arthur disclosed that a nationwide enterprise export-readiness assessments/audits on selected companies and MSMEs will be conducted to identify the specific needs of these businesses so as to ascertain what it would take for them to access the AfCFTA market.
Madam Sylvia Senu, a UNDP Economic Analyst who also attended the workshop, stated that the UNDP is dedicated to assisting government efforts to recover MSMEs through an inclusive and integrated program to support MSMEs.
“We are working with the Ghana National AfCFTA Coordination Office to build the capacity of the MSMEs and also helping them with mentoring and coaching them to access catalytic funding.”
Sylvia Senu
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