Call for Proposals: Addressing Tax Administration Challenges for the Ghana Revenue Authority

Lausanne, Switzerland, 28 July 2025 – The World Bank, Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), and Trust Valley announced today the opening of applications for the GovTech Innovation Challenge, a pilot programme that connects technology companies with government partners to address public sector challenges through digital transformation.

Startups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) worldwide are invited to submit proposals that address tax administration challenges faced by the Ghana Revenue Authority, with a particular focus on informal sector income tax identification and e-commerce VAT identification and registration.

The GovTech Innovation Challenge provides a secure and practical space to test new technology solutions for the public sector. It aims to accelerate technology adoption in government services, improving efficiency, transparency and responsiveness to citizens by collaborating with the private sector and innovation companies.

Programme Details and Application Information

Innovation companies are invited to submit proposals for two key challenges: Informal Sector Income Tax Identification and Registration, and E-commerce VAT Identification and Compliance. These initiatives aim to enhance tax administration efficiency and could be replicated in other developing economies.

Three top companies will be selected from this call for proposals to work directly with the Ghana Revenue Authority on developing their ideas into functional Proofs of Concept. The selected teams will attend a 4-day bootcamp in Switzerland’s Trust Valley ecosystem, receive expert mentorship, and participate in technical consultations. The programme will conclude with a closing ceremony on December 2, 2025, in Geneva, where solutions and the programme’s outcomes will be presented.

Application Timeline:

• Call for Proposals launch: July 28, 2025
• Information sessions with Ghana Revenue Authority: August 18 – September 12, 2025
• Application deadline: September 12, 2025
• Selected proposals announcement: October 3, 2025
• Bootcamp in Switzerland: November 11 – November 14, 2025

Who is eligible for the Innovation Challenge?

The Innovation Challenge is open only to startups, scale-ups, and SMEs with under 75 employees and less than $5 million USD in annual revenue. Eligible companies must demonstrate relevant experience and commit to active programme participation. Large corporations and multinationals are not eligible.

How to apply?

Companies can access the full challenge statements and submit their proposals via the official application portal at https://govtech.trustvalley.swiss/challenge. Separate applications are required for each challenge statement, but companies may apply to one or both.

Information sessions with Ghana Revenue Authority representatives will be scheduled in August and early September to provide additional context and answer questions related to the challenge statements.

About the World Bank

The World Bank Group works in every major area of development. It provides a wide array of financial products and technical assistance and help countries share and apply innovative knowledge and solutions to tackle today’s intertwined development challenges. The Institutions Global Department supports GovTech and Public Sector Innovation through a whole-of-government approach to public sector modernization, focusing on citizen-centric services, universal accessibility, and digital transformation. Learn more at https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/govtech

About SECO

The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) is Switzerland’s center of expertise for economic affairs, labor policy and foreign economic policy. It works to ensure sustainable economic growth by supporting global economic integration and promoting favorable economic conditions both domestically and internationally. Learn more at https://www.seco.admin.ch/seco/de/home.html

About Trust Valley

Trust Valley is a Swiss innovation ecosystem dedicated to digital trust and cybersecurity, based in the Lake Geneva region. It brings together 50+ academic institutions, private companies and public organizations to foster innovation, research and development in digital security, privacy and trust technologies. Learn more at https://trustvalley.swiss

Contact information

For any media and programme inquiries, please use the official contact form at the official application portal.