Group External Affairs Head of Vodafone, Joakim Reiter
Vodafone Ghana and Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), which have adopted the global concept of using data from mobile networks to make vital decisions, have launched the “Big Data For Good” initiative.
The initiative is aimed at using mobile-derived customer insights to make better predictions for sustainable development which has become very critical, especially in a world that continues to be transformed by technology every day.
The partners, including Vodafone Group Foundation and Flowminder – a non-profit organisation – will lead the way in using anonymised data to track trends in population movement.
The data will be analysed for purposes of decision-making for the health, agriculture and transportation sectors, among others.
Vodafone sees this partnership as one that will support Ghana to use valuable metrics to make better analyses and predictions for the greater good of all.
Group External Affairs Head of Vodafone, Joakim Reiter said: “We are leading the way in supporting Ghana’s drive to undertake significant reforms to meet the Sustainable Development Goals. With close to five billion telecommunication subscribers globally, the power of the mobile phone cannot be underestimated.
“Mobile data is now dictating the pace by helping countries and organisations make better analyses and predictions, and Ghana is in a unique position to become a trailblazer across the continent.
“Our partnership with the Statistical Service, Vodafone Foundation and Flowminder will ultimately prove why data from mobile networks can become a force for the good of society.”
The acting Government Statistician, Baah Wadieh said: “Our stock-in-trade is to produce big and relevant data that inures to the benefit of the country and its people.
“We have seen the opportunities and benefits of using Call Data Records to create transformation in many countries across the world and we are in no doubt that this initiative will transform how socially impacting interventions are made in Ghana.”
The GSS will ultimately take ownership of the project with data reports from Vodafone Ghana, while Flow minder will ensure that an effective mechanism is in place to analyse the information to significantly benefit the public.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri