A MARKET-BASED APPROACH TO 3D PRINTING FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN GHANA

The purpose of this report is to create the foundation for further study of a market-based approach to 3D printing as an instrument for economic development in Ghana. The delivery of improved products and services to the most underserved markets is needed to spur economic activity and improve standards of living. The relationship between economic development and the advancement of technology is considered within the context of Ghana. An opportunity for market entry exists within both the bottom of the economic pyramid and the mid-segment market. 3D printing (additive manufacturing) has proven to be a disruptive technology that has demonstrated an ability to expedite the speed of innovations and create products that were previously not possible. An investigation of how 3D printers can be used to create improved products for the most underserved markets within Ghana is presented. Questions are asked to elucidate how and when adoption of 3D printers and 3D printed products may occur in the future. Based upon the existing barriers to adoption, 3D printing technology must improve before widespread adoption will occur in Ghana. spent over two years in Ghana. Ghana is located in West Africa and surrounded by Togo, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, and the Gulf of Guinea, see (Figure 1.1). The country is diverse with 75 ethnic groups and more than 250 languages and dialects spoken (www.ghanaembassy.org). I worked as a physics teacher at Abor Senior High School. The town of Abor is located in the southeast corner of the Volta Region in Ghana. The Eʋe people are the predominant ethnic group in the southern Volta region, while Anlogbe is the main dialect spoken in the Keta Municipal District. The district is characterized by farming and fishing in and around the brackish Keta lagoon. After two years of teaching, I moved to Tamale, capital of the Northern Region, to work on the USAID-Ghana Agriculture Technology Transfer (ATT) project. The ATT project is under the Feed the Future initiative within the economic growth office of USAID. The primary goal of the ATT project was to initiate economic growth in the northern three regions of Ghana by increasing agriculture production through the introduction and implementation of appropriate and affordable technologies.