There is the need for collaboration between private organisations and government institutions to generate insights that would contribute to community development and socio-economic policy.

"When we partnered with Ghana Statistical Service alongside Flowminder, we were able to use this partnership to really drive insight-led decisions," Angela Mensah-Poku, Commercial & Digital Operations Director, Vodafone Ghana, said.

The partnership has led to a wide range of use cases, such as disaster planning, tracking the spread of communicable diseases, and providing critical information during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sharing her experiences on a successful public-private partnership, Data for Good, aimed at using aggregated anonymised data to improve the lives of Ghanaians at the United Nations World Data Forum via zoom on Tuesday, she mentioned that the data was used to predict the movement of people during the 2021 census in Ghana, showcasing the potential impact of aggregated anonymised data on policy and resource allocation.

Speaking on the importance of building a data-driven ecosystem, she said, "By having the Hewlett team on board, having Flowminder on board, we were able to create a small ecosystem. And then, with our successes with the data, we've been able to attract a wider set of partners, whether it's from NGOs or private businesses, and I think that this encourages the ecosystem to grow larger and inspire more impactful global insights".

One of the key aspects of the partnership, she said, had been capacity building and knowledge transfer.

The UN World Data Forum, a hybrid event held both in-person and online this year, is taking place in Hangzhou, China.

The forum brings together leaders and experts from various sectors to discuss the power of data in shaping the future and creating a more inclusive and sustainable world.