Ghana is set to host the maiden 3iAfrica Summit, a three-day event that aims to promote digitization and technology in the financial sector to boost inclusion. The summit, an initiative of the Bank of Ghana, the Development Bank of Ghana and the Monetary Authority of Singapore, is expected to bring together about 4,000 business executives from about 80 countries.
The theme of the session is “Unlocking Africa’s FinTech and Digital Economic Potential” and will focus on transforming Africa’s economic landscape through sustainable, long-term capital allocation.
The event is designed to provide a platform for policy discussion, global alignment of intellectual resources, business endeavors and investor networking.
According to the Bank of Ghana’s Director of Fintech and Innovation, Kwame Oppong, the summit is part of the Bank’s intention to aid growth in Africa.
Mr. Oppong believes that digitization can drive innovation and growth on the continent.
“It is part of our intention to help the development. The opportunity that digitization has on the continent is innovation… the right investment can scale to deliver services both locally and internationally. If you look at the journey of fintech from either bank or non-bank like mobile money providers, it has helped us achieve our policy goals.”
The summit will also focus on other areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), its use in everyday life and how it can be used responsibly to protect consumer data.
He added that there will also be discussions on agricultural technology and its potential to improve the agricultural sector in Ghana.
The Bank of Ghana believes that the adoption of technology in the financial sector can improve the delivery, efficiency, convenience and inclusion of financial services in Africa.
The summit is expected to provide a platform for stakeholders to discuss ideas for creating a sound and safe financial system and also attract a large number of participants from around the world.
“There are a lot of interesting areas that will be discussed at the summit, and one of the things we’re doing is not making this a technology conference from a conversational perspective. Because that’s how you lose the whole country. If you’re talking about AI, people don’t even realize that your everyday life is embedded with AI, your phones, your tablets, how is it used responsibly?”
“How do you protect yourself as a consumer so that your data is not misused and how it can be used positively to affect you? For example, if I am an SME, how can it help me to access loans, without collateral, which is a very big challenge for our SMEs? Emphasis will be placed on the media. We will have discussions on agricultural technology that will help our agricultural sector to bring productivity.”