His father Abdulai Adam was a vulcanizer in Tamale and his mother Martha Sandow was a petty trader.

On completion of his studies in 1980, he was retained as a faculty intern at the Computer Centre of the university, where his interest in information technology began.

[citation needed] Abdulai's interests span advocacy research into technology developmental challenges in Africa.

Between 2007 and 2012, he was Director of Research, Innovation and Development at Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT.

[13] Abdulai is the head of Information Services and Technology at the Ghana Hajj commission since 2017.