TRIP REPORT
AfricaLink, Peace Corps, and the
Upper West Commerce Association in Ghana
December 1997

The AfricaLink Advisor visited the town of Wa in Northwestern Ghana to review the status of a joint project with the Peace Corps to establish an Internet resource center to be operated by a local business promotion group, the Upper West Commerce Association (UWCA). While the center will undertake a variety of tasks, one task in particular will be for the UWCA to use the Web to promote local manufactured products on the international market using the services of an American non-governmental organization.

A proposal had been prepared by Todd Bruning, the Peace Corps Volunteer assigned to the UWCA to assist with business development for the community. Mr. Bruning conducts computer training courses and also maintains three computers and a fax machine. A Ghanaian national service volunteer is also periodically assigned to the UWCA to assist with the computing program, and the hope is that one of these Ghanaian service volunteers can be attracted to the UWCA for longer-term salaried service.

The proposal prepared by Mr. Bruning in behalf of the UWCA was presented to USAID/Washington (AFR/SD/PSGE) and approved. Concurrence was secured from USAID/Accra (Cleveland Thomas). The Peace Corps Country Director in Accra, Harriet Lancaster, provided assistance and encouragement. In a brief dinner ceremony in Wa, funds were transferred to the UWCA to enable them to purchase an air conditioner, power stabilizers, computer hardware upgrades, and the first quarter of an approved two years of basic access to telephone and Internet services. The total budget for the project is about $16,000.

In discussions with Mr. Bruning, it was learned that the market for Internet services, like everything else in the town of Wa, is evolving rapidly. AfricaOnline in Accra intends to offer local dial-up PPP services in Tamale, with an email only link to Wa, by the end of this month. The UWCA will consider whether costs might be significantly reduced by taking advantage of this new service.

Visits were paid to a number of the businesses of members of the UWCA. In one or two cases the members were able to articulate an expectation of direct benefits from having Internet access in Wa, but in most cases there seemed simply to be a feeling that having Internet access would be generally beneficial to the community and to business.

Mr. Bruning is leaving Wa for the United States for about two months of leave prior to beginning his third year of service. The AfricaLink Advisor transported the computer equipment of the UWCA to Accra for upgrades and cleaning. These will be collected by Mr. Burning and returned to Wa when he himself returns from home leave.

Later in Accra a meeting was held with the Peace Corps Country Director to discuss the Wa program. Ms. Lancaster suggested contacting Kelly Morris of Peace Corps/Washington to discuss ways AfricaLink might work with Peace Corps in the rural areas of other countries in Africa to build low-cost centers for computer training and Internet access. The roughly $16,000 equipment cost for Wa compares quite favorably to the costs of comparable projects under other programs.

Persons Visited

• Emmanuel Dumfeh, tavern operator
• Francis Agyei Dankwa, welding and lathe shop owner
• Offeh-Gyimah Emmanuel, mechanical engineer, Volta River Authority
• Alhaji Abdul-Rahman Abdulai, proprietor of Ramabus Enterprises Ltd.
• Josephine Kaa-ib, head of the Wa Women’s Weavers Association
• Joyce Adomako, general business
• Ahlex Kontor, general merchant and head of the UWCA
• Mohammad Al Hassan, regional accountant
• Bon Dery, Ghana national service volunteer
• Todd Bruning, Peace Corps Volunteer
• Harriet Lancaster, Peace Corps Country Director