- Digital Economy Needs Government to Clear the Road, Not Control the Traffic – Bright Simons
Ghana’s digital economy is growing not because every participant has received formal training, secured a licence or waited for government direction, but because ordinary people have learnt to use technology to solve immediate economic problems.
That is the central challenge contained in Bright Simons’ warning that government often functions as an impediment rather than an enabler of digital platforms.
The vice-president and head of research at IMANI Centre for Policy and Education Bright Simons, speaking at Joy News’ Digital Economy Forum on AI and the Ghana Economy, argues that policymakers should concentrate on removing barriers that prevent citizens from using technology productively.
His examples are familiar: ride-hailing drivers navigating unfamiliar neighbourhoods, delivery workers using geolocation and content creators building audiences without dedicated schools teaching those skills.
“Nobody taught them how to use mapping services,” Mr Simons said at Joy News’ Digital Economy Forum on AI and the Ghanaian economy. “Somehow we figured out how to use mapping services, how to do geolocation and deliver food and the rest of it.”
His point is not that skills, standards or regulation are unnecessary. It is that digital adoption frequently develops from below, through experimentation and practical necessity, while official policy arrives later and sometimes attempts to control an ecosystem it did not create and may not fully understand.
This distinction matters as Ghana seeks to position itself as a competitive digital economy. Governments naturally want to demonstrate activity by announcing strategies, establishing institutions and introducing licences. Yet the quantity of regulation says little about its quality. A licensing framework can protect consumers and clarify responsibility, but it can also raise entry costs, entrench established operators and exclude the informal workers digital platforms initially empowered.
Mr Simons recalled opposing proposals to license Uber, Bolt and similar services because the resulting obligations could have placed excessive burdens on local authorities. He also cited public resistance to proposed licensing requirements for software developers as evidence of how poorly designed rules can generate uncertainty rather than confidence.
Ride-hailing passengers need safety protections. Drivers deserve transparent commissions and fair dispute-resolution systems. E-commerce customers require avenues for redress, while digital businesses must comply with appropriate taxation, data-protection and competition rules. A state that ignores these responsibilities would not be an enabler; it would be absent.
The real policy question is therefore not whether government should regulate, but how and when. Regulation should respond to clearly identified harm, impose obligations proportionate to risk and remain flexible enough to accommodate business models still evolving. It should not begin from the assumption that every participant requires advance permission to innovate.
Ghana’s digital workers often operate with thin margins, limited access to credit and little institutional support. A new registration fee, certification requirement or compliance process may look modest from a ministry office but can determine whether a young developer, courier or online trader enters the market at all.
Mr Simons’ argument also challenges a persistent assumption that formal instruction must precede economic participation. “Who builds schools to teach people how to use WhatsApp? Who builds schools to teach influencers how to do YouTube influencing?” he asked.
Digital platforms collapse the distance between learning and earning: traders, drivers and creators acquire specialised skills through repeated participation, experimentation and audience feedback.
Rather than attempting to credential every digital activity, government should strengthen foundational capabilities: reliable electricity, affordable broadband, basic digital literacy, cybersecurity awareness, accessible payment systems and enforceable data rights. These public goods allow citizens to build specialised knowledge through use while reducing the risks associated with participation.
Infrastructure remains particularly important. A policy environment described as innovation-friendly means little if data costs consume earnings, unstable electricity interrupts work or digital payments fail. Removing bottlenecks must therefore extend beyond eliminating licences. It requires the government to address the physical and financial conditions that determine whether digital enterprise can scale.
Interoperability offers a better model than control. Public digital infrastructure should allow verified identities, payments and authorised data to move securely between services. Open technical standards can reduce costs for businesses and give citizens greater choice without requiring the government to operate every platform itself.
Policy development must include the people affected. Drivers, merchants, developers, consumers and local technology companies should participate before regulations are drafted, not after implementation problems become public controversies. Consultation is not merely a democratic courtesy; it helps regulators understand how digital markets function in practice.
Government should also use regulatory sandboxes and phased rules where risks are uncertain. Temporary, supervised environments allow new products to be tested, evidence to be collected and safeguards to be refined before nationwide obligations are imposed. That approach replaces speculation with learning.
Mr Simons maintained that identifying obstacles should not be dismissed as abstract policy debate. “Often they are impediments and bottlenecks in their way, and people like us who point them out should not be seen as discussing theory. It’s very practical,” he said.
That practicality is visible in household incomes. Every unnecessary approval can delay somebody’s first contract, delivery or online sale. Conversely, every improvement in connectivity, payment reliability or regulatory clarity can widen access to markets that were previously unreachable.
Still, digital growth should not be romanticised. Platform work can transfer commercial risk to workers, weaken employment protections and produce unpredictable incomes. Algorithms can discriminate, dominant firms can abuse market power and personal data can be exploited. Removing barriers must not become an excuse for removing accountability.
The most effective government is neither a passive spectator nor an overbearing gatekeeper. It establishes clear protections, invests in shared infrastructure, enforces competition and intervenes when measurable harm occurs. It also recognises when citizens and businesses are solving problems successfully without bureaucratic direction.
Ghana’s digital economy will not be built exclusively in ministries, technology hubs or formal classrooms. It is already being constructed in vehicles, homes, markets and smartphones. The state’s task is to make those pathways safer, cheaper and more open.
Mr Simons’ warning should therefore be treated less as an argument against government than as a demand for better government. Becoming an enabler requires discipline: knowing what to regulate, what to provide and, equally importantly, what to leave alone.
