Africa, with its very youthful population and high mobile phone penetration, gets to gain more in the digitalization race, says Bank of Ghana (BoG) Governor, Dr. Ernest Addison.
Giving a speech at the inaugural 3i Africa summit—a gathering of all heads of African Central Banks and Fintech players—in Accra, Dr. Addison said these factors, including the rising homegrown FinTech solutions, provide “fertile grounds to accelerate the digitalization agenda across the continent.”
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Already, Africa is projected to become the world’s fastest-growing continent when it comes to fintech revenue, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 32%. According to a 2023 report by the Boston Consulting Group, by 2030, the African fintech market will be worth around $65 billion. That is good news for an industry that’s driving financial inclusion among the unbanked on the continent.
However, there is cause for concern, as the BoG boss says the lack of requisite investments in African FinTechs could slow the pace of innovation and the scalability of solutions in achieving the desired impact of a digitised Africa.
“The general lack of investor visibility is a major challenge for most local FinTechs. Without sufficient capital, brilliant ideas and prototypes of FinTech startup solutions with the potential to address diverse financial service needs fail to progress to production,” he said.
Stakeholders at the end of the three-day summit expect to achieve tangible policy outcomes that will enable affordable and safe instant cross-border payments, empower FinTechs to drive Africa’s economic transformation in terms of regulation, advance digital public infrastructure, and explore the role of FinTech in bridging the financing gap for SMEs.
