In 2017, the West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP), under its World Bank Africa Centres of Excellence (ACE) project, installed a High-Performance Computing (HPC) system at the University of Ghana, the first of its kind at a Ghanaian university.
Nearly a decade later, the Africa Climate Collaborative at the University of Ghana has committed $500,000 to upgrade the system, which was formally commissioned on 17 July 2026, during a ceremony that highlighted the rationale for the upgrade and the opportunities it presents for advanced research.

Prof. Nana Aba Appiah-Amfo, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, said: “The kind of impact that we want to have as a university, as we have articulated in our vision, needs these kinds of resources to facilitate that.”
“As a university, we have worked in silos, replicating efforts, and these facilities will help us consolidate our resources.”
For the Africa Climate Collaborative, the investment forms part of its commitment to strengthening climate research and innovation, with broader applications for research in other computationally intensive disciplines.
Referencing the University’s fourth strategic priority, “Engagement and Partnerships”, Prof. Amfo also acknowledged the role of partnerships in making initiatives such as the HPC upgrade possible. Recognising the Mastercard Foundation’s support through the Africa Climate Collaborative, she said: “We do what we do because of our partnerships.”

Prof. Gordon Awandare, who leads the Programme at the University of Ghana, announced the Collaborative’s intention to make the system a shared resource. The Zuputo, as he said the HPC had been nicknamed and which translates to “Brains” in a local northern Ghanaian dialect, will be available to all researchers across the University whose work requires advanced computing capacity.
As Prof. Amfo puts it: “It is a huge investment, and we need to ensure that we reap the dividends thereof.”