UK minister calls for a strong focus on Science and ICT in Ghana in order to drive Innovation and Development. Shadow Minister of Science and Innovation and Member of Parliament for Newcastle-Upon-Tyne - Chi Onwurah MP made the call at the launch of the Ghana ICT & Telecom Summit.

She also said she was very excited about the prospect of visiting Ghana,one of the shining stars of Africa and was looking forward to interacting with Ghanaian officials on the challenges they face in the ICT sector, Chi Onwurah who worked for the UK communications regulator OFCOM before becoming an MP has over 20 years experience in the Telecoms sector and hopes to share her experience and knowledge with the delegates at the summit.

The event which is billed for the 28-29th April, 2011 at the Ghana-India Kofi Annan ICT Centre in Accra will see Ghana host some of the biggest names in the ICT & Telecoms Industry. These include, *Hon. Haruna Iddrissu, *Minister of Communications, Ghana*, Dr Ekow Spio-Garbrah, *Chief Executive Officer Commonwealth Telecommunications Organization*, Mr. Paarock Asuman Van Percy, *Director General*, *National Communications Authority*, Dorothy K. Gordon, *Director-General, Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT* *Ghana*, Chi Onwurah MP*, Shadow Minister for Innovations, UK*, Charles Green*, CEO, Helios Tower Group*, Mr. Kofi Attor*, Chief Executive Officer, Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC)*, Alhassan Umar, *CEO,* *Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES) * *Ghana*, Edwin Alfred Provencal* , Managing Director, National Communications Backbone Company*, Bright Simons, *President, mPedigree Network*, Tony Pretorius, *Chief Technical Officer, *Helios Tower Africa, Brett Goschen*,* *CEO MTN Ghana, *Phillip Sowah*, Managing Director Airtel Ghana and many more.

Speaking on Helios Towers’ decision to sponsor and support the event Helios Towers CEO Charles “Chuck” Green said Helios is focused on developing the telecommunication infrastructure that Ghana needs in order to pursue its ICT goals, he went on to say that Helios Towers expects to invest millions in building the necessary infrastructure in Ghana to help make the broadband future a reality for all Ghanaians.

The summit will bring together over 200 decision-makers from Ghanaian operators and international stakeholders with an interest in the market to share experiences, knowledge and ideas with a view to overcoming the industry challenges. The 2 day summit agenda will address all aspects of Ghanaian ICT & telecoms strategies for attracting investment, broadband connectivity for all, solutions to boost operator ROI, Regulatory challenges & opportunities, infrastructure development, VAS and local content for Ghanaians, subscriber acquisition and retention strategies, mobile banking, customer loyalty, future trends and more.

This is a must-attend for anyone working in or looking to do business in Ghana’s ICT & telecoms sector. For more information on Ghana ICT & Telecom Summit please contact:

Tony Burkson, Conference Director, Tburkson@mobileworldmag.com Tel: 0044 (0)7976435658;

Mac-Jordan Degadjor, Media Liaison, Macjordan.Degadjor@gmail.com : Tel: 00233(0)243329841.