World Bank2013-02-132013-02-132011-11https://hdl.handle.net/10986/12343At the end of February 2011, the World Bank commissioned Balancing Act to assess the innovative Information and communication Technologies (ICT) applications already being used in the country, the impact of these applications, and provide recommendations on how these applications could be scaled up in the future. The study is part of a wider World Bank initiative to scale up the strategic application of information and communication technology in Africa. The study takes as its main assumption that ICT can provide a number of different ways that can help the social and economic growth of a country. However, it also looks at the interplay between things that ICT can make happen and the broader factors affecting Ghana. The structure of the report is as follows: 1) creating critical mass - the central argument; 2) the transition from infrastructure to services and applications; 3) the current state of ICT-enabled services and applications in Ghana; and 4) getting from here to there: actions needed to scale-up ICT services and apps. The methodology for this study has three parts to it: an examination of the African ICT roadmap; comparisons with Kenya and other countries; and the gathering of expert opinion both from the public and private sectors.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGO3GACCESS CHARGESACCESS TO COMPUTERSACCESS TO THE INTERNETADVERTISEMENTSADVERTISINGAGENTSAPPLICATION OF INFORMATIONAUTOMATIONB2BB2CBANDWIDTHBASICBIBLOGBROADBANDBROADCASTBUSINESS MODELBUSINESS MODELSBUSINESS PROCESSBUSINESS PROCESS OUTSOURCINGBUSINESS SERVICEBUSINESSESBUYERSCACHECALL CENTRECALL CENTRESCAPACITY BUILDINGCAPACITY-BUILDINGCOLLABORATIONCOMMODITYCOMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGYCOMPUTER LITERACYCOMPUTERSCOMPUTINGCONNECTIVITYCONTENT PROVIDERCONTENT PROVIDERSCONTRACTORSCURRENCY CONVERSIONSCUSTOMER BASECUSTOMER SERVICECUSTOMSDATA COVERAGEDATA SERVICESDECISION-MAKINGDEVICESDIGITALDIGITAL SERVICESDIGITIZATIONDISTRIBUTION CHANNELSE-GOVERNMENTE-MAILSE-PAYMENTE-PROCUREMENTE-TRANSACTIONSECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTELECTRICITYELECTRONIC TRANSACTIONSEND-USEREND-USERSENTERTAINMENTEQUIPMENTEXPERT OPINIONEXPORT MARKETSFIBRE CABLEFINANCIAL INSTITUTIONSFINANCIAL TRANSACTIONSGLOBAL ECONOMYGOVERNMENT POLICYGOVERNMENT REVENUEGOVERNMENT SERVICEGOVERNMENT SERVICESHUMAN RESOURCEHUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENTICTINFORMATION PROVIDERSINFORMATION SERVICEINFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENTINNOVATIONINNOVATIONSINSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORKINTERNATIONAL CLIENTSINTERNATIONAL COMPANIESINTERNET ACCESSINTERNET APPLICATIONSINTERNET SERVICESINTERNET TRAFFICINTERNET USEISPISPSIT SERVICESJAVALEARNINGLICENSINGLIMITED ACCESSLOCALISATIONMARKET COMPETITIONMARKET RESEARCHMARKET SHAREMARKETINGMATERIALMEDIAMISMOBILE PHONEMOBILE PHONESMOBILE SERVICESMONEY ORDERNECESSARY SKILLSNETWORKINGNETWORKSNUMBER OF USERSONLINE ADVERTISINGONLINE RETAILERSONLINE SERVICEONLINE SERVICESONLINE SYSTEMSOPEN ACCESSOUTSOURCINGPAYMENT SYSTEMPAYMENT SYSTEMSPAYMENT TRANSACTIONSPCPCSPENETRATION RATEPHONESPHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTUREPILOT PROJECTSPPPSPRICE COMPARISONPRICE COMPARISONSPRIVATE SECTORPRIVATE SECTORSPRODUCTIVITYPROGRAMSPROJECT MANAGEMENTPROTOCOLSRESULTRESULTSRETAIL PRICERETAIL PRICESSATELLITESERVERSERVICE DELIVERYSERVICE PROVIDERSSILICONSITESSOFTWARE DEVELOPMENTSOFTWARE SYSTEMSSTOCK CONTROLTARGETSTELECOMTELECOM COMPANIESTELEVISIONTRACKING SYSTEMTRANSACTIONUNIVERSAL SERVICEUSERUSERSUSESVALUE CHAINVERIFICATIONVIDEOVOIPWEBSITEWEBSITESWIRELESSWorld Bank10.1596/12343