Ghana’s 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 the digital economy to accelerate the pace of transformation while 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 the financial technology (fintech) and digital economy to accelerate the pace of transformation while opening the 3i Africa Summit in the capital of Ghana. Extremes.
The three-day summit, themed “Unlocking Fintech and Africa’s Digital Economic Potential”, aims to create greater momentum and traction for Africa’s digital finance agenda by creating a platform for meetings between finance, policy 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 will help Africans take full advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
He added that since the AfCFTA has the potential to disrupt the continent’s economic landscape and bring about transformation, African countries must embrace digitization and fintech to drive this transformation.
Through public-private partnerships and cross-border cooperation, a seamless and efficient fintech ecosystem can be created to align with the goal of a fully integrated African economy, the Ghanaian president said. “Working together, we can unlock our countries’ enormous potential and create a rising tide that lifts all boats from the smallest to the largest metropolis. This is possible when we embrace digital transformation.”
Wamkele Mene, secretary-general of the AfCFTA Secretariat, said in his speech that digital inclusion is vital to harnessing the huge market potential represented by Africa’s 1.4 billion population.
“But if we fail to develop these digital technologies that all of us are going to discuss today and tomorrow, it will be difficult for us to achieve our goals,” Mene added. ■