Accra to become first 'Centre of Excellence' in Africa

Microsoft Ghana, the Accra Metropolitan Assembly and the Global Alliance of Mayors and Leaders from Africa and African Descent signed an agreement to make the city of Accra in Ghana Africa’s first ‘Centre of Excellence’, through the use of Microsoft’s CityNext applications. This will see the city become healthier, safer and more modern.

Presided over by the Hon. Alfred Vanderpuije, Lord Mayor of Accra, the agreement comes days before the Fourth World Summit of Mayors and Leaders from Africa and African Descent and serves to motivate the 300 mayors attending to follow in Accra’s footsteps.

Private sector partnerships will be a significant dimension of the Summit, exemplified by the agreement with Microsoft, one of the world’s leading technology companies.

The Summit will also encourage Mayors to sign the UNAIDS Paris Declaration to put their cities on the fast-track to ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 through focused action for prevention, treatment, and support.


“Our collaboration is an excellent example of how private partnerships can help shape Africa’s development and we believe that Accra’s example will motivate cities all over Africa and the world to emulate our example” says Hon. Alfred Vanderpuije.

Microsoft CityNext applications utilise the power of Microsoft’s Cloud, Big Data, mobile and social technologies to put a city’s people first - harnessing their ideas, energy, and expertise to create a healthier, safer and more sustainable place to live. Cloud computing provides cross-departmental collaboration and resource sharing and its scalability and cost-effectiveness means that cities can reduce costs without cutting essential services.

With Big Data and analytics, city leaders can gain real-time insights from multiple data sources—such as traffic cameras, social media and other public channels—to make more accurate decisions. Microsoft’s CityNext applications streamline judicial and municipal processes, while enabling civic leaders to provide citizen-centric services that enable people to directly engage and interact with their city governments.