Turnkey projects are an integral part of any country’s technology industry. These projects lay the groundwork for further development of that country’s local industry, as well as being a major milestone for the organizations involved. A leading system integration company from Pakistan has commenced such a turnkey project in Ghana.

The project is the Automation of The Ghana Stock Exchange and is being undertaken by the InfoTech, and is a landmark for Pakistan’s technology industry and for the Ghana Government. The announcement was made on the 10th of January, 2008, in a ceremony held at Accra and was attended by several dignitaries from the Ghana government and stock exchange, as well as the senior management of InfoTech Pakistan and InfoTech Singapore. The ceremony was also attended by the CTO of the Lahore Stock Exchange (LSE) and the CEO of Softech Systems Pakistan. The event was covered by all major media corporations of Ghana and was also attended by the managements of leading investment and brokerage firms of the country.

The project was funded by the World Bank under a program to build Ghana’s economy. The project is aimed at modernizing the stock exchange’s activities and bringing them up to international standards, to make Ghana a more investor friendly nation. The project is designed to improve liquidity of assets and surveillance of all trading activities. It will also help in minimizing other risks such as impersonation and loss of certificates, and will automate the trading and settlement systems.

The project also entails training and support for the system on a turnkey basis and will considerably improve the country’s securities trading. The solution is based on the Trading System developed by the Lahore Stock Exchange. The system has been designed around components from IBM, Cisco, Oracle, Microsoft, and Computer Associates, to ensure easy availability of technology upgrades and replacements.

The project was awarded to InfoTech through an International Competitive Bidding Process which took place through mid 2007. OMX, Tata Consulting Services, and Millennium IT were among the bidders however InfoTech’s proposal was preferred based on the working example of the Lahore Stock Exchange.

“While succeeding to win this contract on technical and financial merits, InfoTech brings along a wealth of Institutional Knowledge and support to help GSE to build upon our experience and success of the Pakistani Capital Market. We shall go the extra mile in the successful implementation of this project and eventually showcasing it for the rest of African region. This will not only help Ghana to improve trading volumes and liquidity, but also open further opportunities for Pakistani companies such as InfoTech”, commented Naseer A. Akhtar, President of InfoTech (Pvt) Ltd.

This project has significantly boosted Pakistan’s IT industry in the international community and serves as a benchmark for collaborative projects within the industry.