By Alexander Chiejina
At least 350 million adults in Africa, lacking access to banking services and shut out of the formal economy, rely significantly on expensive, hazardous cash or unofficial sources of financing, which leaves them exposed to economic instability, says AFricaNenda, an African-led organisation that works to maximise the potential of inclusive digital financial services on the continent.
In its first annual report, AFricaNenda said its work and accomplishments are directed at removing obstacles to instant and inclusive payments, facilitating access to digital payments, and leveraging the digital financial ecosystem on the continent for inclusive growth.
“Today, the need for a more inclusive society is becoming increasingly urgent,” said Robert Ochola, chief executive officer of AfricaNenda, adding that putting in place procedures that increase access to financial services and leave no one behind is one of the quickest ways to do this.
“For all Africans to have access to financial services, instant and inclusive payment methods can be crucial,” Ochola emphasised.
In order to enable the rollout of Digital Public Goods (DPGs) in an African country and to support a regional system, AfricaNenda stated that it assisted its partners in 2022 in raising $11 million for the development of quick and inclusive payment systems in Africa.
“Along with providing intensive training for the West African Economic and Monetary Union, AfricaNenda also helped the Southern Africa Development Community scale up its Transactions Cleared on Instant Basis (“TCIB”) platform,” the organisation stated.
In order to advance the nation’s merchant payment system on an open-source interoperability platform, AfricaNenda said it is working with the Rwanda Information Society Agency, noting that opportunities for developers and the nation’s fintech groups to display their abilities, take part in fintech exhibitions, and join accelerators are also beneficial.
In order to assist cross-border traders in the region in adopting digital payments, AfricaNenda said it financed the development of seven digital finance training modules during the year under review, noting that in line with this, it released a paper in collaboration with the COMESA Business Council, the UN Economic Commission for Africa, and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa that suggested innovative digital payment options as well as a specially created curriculum for MSMEs training.
Last year, the organisation released the inaugural State of Instant and Inclusive Payment Systems (IPS) in Africa (SIIPS) report which showed that IPS in Africa has dramatically increased from two systems in 2012 to 29 systems now, with more than a third of these going live in the last year.
Although there have been 32 percent and 40 percent annual increases in total transaction volumes and values since 2017, the report stated that few individual IPS have scaled due to the sheer number of systems and the youth of many systems.
The goal of domestic IPS, according to the paper, was to “enable interoperability among digital financial service providers (DFSPs), promote competition, and enhance the value proposition of digital payments for end-users. One overall objective is frequent financial inclusion. IPS is supported by a variety of public and commercial parties, who are typically under the direction of a central bank,” the paper noted.
AfricaNenda has partnerships with numerous national, regional, and continental stakeholders as a convening actor. This network, which consists of regional organisations, governments, central banks, the corporate sector, and development organisations, intends to promote intra-African knowledge sharing and training to aid in the development of quick and inclusive payment systems across Africa.
From presence to power: Building the table we deserve