President John Dramani Mahama has directed the release of GH¢100 million to support the operational launch of the Ghana National Research Fund (GNRF) for 2026.
Speaking at the official launch of the Fund in Accra on Tuesday, June 16, President Mahama said the fund, would help bridge the longstanding gap between research and commercial production, ensuring that innovations developed by researchers are scaled up for national development.
The Ghana National Research Fund was established under the Ghana National Research Fund Act, 2020 (Act 1056) to provide sustainable financing for research, innovation and technology development across sectors, including science, technology, agriculture, health, the social sciences, and the humanities.
In his address, the president underscored the need for prioritising research to attain economic sovereignty.
“Across Africa, there is a great recognition that true economic sovereignty cannot be achieved without scientific sovereignty. Countries that rely entirely on imported technologies, data, expertise, and solutions will always remain vulnerable. The future belongs to nations capable of generating their own solutions to their challenges.
“Ghana must be one of those nations, and that is why the African Union’s target of investing at least 1 percent of GDP in research and development must be viewed not merely as a spending target, but as a strategy for competitiveness, productivity, and ultimately sovereignty.”
