Fintech
Ghanaian president urges Africa to boost fintech and digital economy for transformation-Xinhua
Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo (C) attends the opening of the 3i Africa Summit in Accra, Ghana, May 13, 2024. Akufo-Addo on Monday urged African countries to develop financial technology (fintech) and l digital economy to accelerate the pace of transformation by opening the 3i Africa Summit in Accra. (Photo by Seth/Xinhua)
ACCRA, May 14 (Xinhua) — Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Monday urged African countries to develop financial technology (fintech) and the digital economy to accelerate the pace of transformation as he opens the 3i Africa Summit in the capital of Ghana. Accra.
The three-day summit, themed “Unleashing Africa’s digital and fintech economic potential”, aims to generate greater momentum and traction for Africa’s digital finance agenda by creating a platform for meetings between finance, politics and technology.
Opening the summit, Akufo-Addo urged African countries to make digital infrastructure the backbone of prosperity for their people, embrace technologies that are reshaping the global economy and adapt them to the continent’s needs and challenges.
Akufo-Addo said a strong fintech and digital innovation landscape would help Africans fully benefit from the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
He added that as the AfCFTA has the potential to disrupt the continent’s economic landscape and drive forward transformation, African countries must embrace digitalisation and fintech to drive that transformation.
Through public-private partnerships and cross-border cooperation, a fluid and efficient fintech ecosystem can be created to align with the goal of a fully integrated African economy, Ghana’s president has said. “By working together, we can unlock the vast potential of our countries and create a rising tide that lifts all boats from the smallest metropolises to the largest. This is possible when we embrace digital transformation.”
Wamkele Mene, Secretary General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, said in his speech that digital inclusion is key to tapping into the vast market potential represented by Africa’s 1.4 billion people.
“But if we fail to implement these digital technologies that we will all be discussing today and tomorrow, it will be difficult for us to achieve our goals,” Mene added. ■