“Africa’s Fintech Ecosystem: The Main Engine of the Digital Revolution”

“Africa’s Fintech Ecosystem: The Main Engine of the Digital Revolution”

He said this at the current 3i Africa Summit being held at the Accra International Conference Center.The conference, themed “Unleashing Africa’s FinTech and Digital Economic Potential,” provides an opportunity to foster collaboration among diverse stakeholders to accelerate innovation across the continent.

The 3i Africa Summit is an initiative by the Bank of Ghana, the Development Bank of Ghana, and the Monetary Authority of Singapore to showcase and promote Africa’s fintech and digital potential.

This ground-breaking international conference aims to change the economic climate in Africa by allocating money in a sustainable, long-term manner.

Mr. Stephen Blewett emphasized in his speech the role that the African fintech ecosystem plays in propelling the continent toward a digital revolution.

“In the upcoming years, Africa’s fintech ecosystem will power its digital revolution and economic development,” he declared.

Financial inclusion, innovation and entrepreneurship, job creation, cross-border transactions and payments, digital identity and security, agriculture and rural development, government services, investment, and funding, as well as digital and financial literacy, are just a few of the ways that fintech can boost local economies and advance the continent.

The success of services like MTN’s Mobile Money and Vodafone and Safaricom’s M-Pesa provides sufficient evidence of the ability of fintech to revolutionize business on the continent and provide millions of people with access to essential financial services.”

He added, “Despite these gains, Africa lags far behind the world in mobile adoption and innovation.

Constraints such as low infrastructure coverage, affordability of data and smartphones, and lack of digital skills training continue to inhibit access to the Internet among vulnerable groups, especially women.

We must therefore make every effort to remove these bottlenecks and close the usage gap by improving data coverage, lowering the cost of data and data-enabled devices, especially in rural and low-income areas and enhancing digital literacy.”

Stephen Blewett also spoke on the issue of sustainability and urged business leaders and policymakers to contribute to ensuring that the right ESG practices remain key in their commercial activities.

“We must not lose sight of the impact that our actions have on our environment and society and strive towards creating shared value in business outcomes. We must progressively reduce our carbon footprints by investing in renewable energy and other energy-efficient tools and technologies that lead to efficiency.

We must take up the challenge of placing environment, social, and governance (ESG) at the heart of our commercial activities and support the achievement of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

I believe that together, we can shape an Africa that not only thrives in the digital age but also serves as a shining example of inclusive and sustainable development,” he added.

Other speakers from MTN are Shaibu Haruna, CEO of Mobile Money Limited Ghana and Eli Hini, CEO of MoMo PSB, Nigeria.  The rest are Cedric Nguessan, MTN Group Finco Payments and E-Commerce; Angela Mensah-Poku, Chief Enterprise Business Officer, MTN Ghana; and Dario Bianchi, Chief Digital Officer, MTN Ghana.