Dr Gillian Hammah, the founder and chief executive officer of GradePoint AI, has advised the Ghanaian government to redirect its artificial intelligence investments away from developing large language models. Speaking at the Step Up Executive Breakfast Series, she argued that the nation’s limited financial resources make competing with global technology developers an unsustainable pursuit. Instead, she urged policymakers to focus on adapting existing technologies to address specific domestic challenges in sectors such as healthcare and agriculture.
Hammah emphasized that Ghana does not need to create its own version of major global platforms like ChatGPT. According to MyJoyOnline, she stated that the country should leverage existing large language models and customize them for local applications. She explained that smaller, specialized models, known as Small Language Models (SLMs), can be trained using specialized datasets to solve particular problems. This approach allows the country to benefit from advanced AI capabilities without committing the enormous financial resources required to build entirely new foundational models from scratch.
Using the healthcare sector as a primary example, Hammah suggested that the Ministry of Health could develop an AI model trained specifically on Ghana’s health data. She noted that such a model would retain the benefits and training of larger global models while being tailored to local medical contexts. She stressed that solving everyday problems related to health, food, and agriculture should be the priority, rather than attempting to build the biggest possible AI model. "We don’t need to build our own ChatGPT," she said, according to MyJoyOnline, highlighting the need for practical, relevant solutions over technological prestige.
The executive also identified poor data management as a significant obstacle to Ghana’s AI ambitions. She called for a nationwide exercise to digitize and harmonize government records, arguing that reliable and accessible data is the foundation for developing specialized applications. Without this infrastructure, creating effective localized tools remains difficult. The discussion took place under the theme "The AI-Powered Project Leader: How to Lead, Deliver & Stay Relevant in the Age of AI," as reported by MyJoyOnline. Hammah’s comments reflect a broader debate in emerging markets about balancing technological adoption with fiscal responsibility and local relevance.