As Africa seeks to unite efforts to build a connected financial ecosystem by 2030, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Johnson Pandit Asiama, has called on African policymakers and regulatory leaders to step up efforts with actionable and concerted plans to make the dream a reality.
The continent aims to build a connected, interoperable, and digitally inclusive African financial ecosystem. Amid this goal, Dr. Johnson Asiama warns that fragmented approaches will fall short of realizing the continent’s full economic potential.
The BoG Governer who was delivering the opening remarks at the 3i AFRICA SUMMIT, a Policy Forum held in Accra under the theme “One Africa, One Market: Driving Innovation, Investment, and Impact for a Connected Future,” urged governments, regulators, and financial institutions to shift from national-level initiatives to a continental coordination agenda that fosters regional integration.
“Realising this vision requires bold, coordinated action across public and private sectors, grounded in policy foresight and a willingness to embrace transformative technologies,” he indicated.
He calls for a harmonising regulatory framework, fostering interoperability across financial infrastructures, and building trust and transparency across jurisdictions.
The Governor emphasized that while the growth of fintech and digital payment solutions is bridging access gaps for underserved communities, national success stories are not enough.
He stressed that Africa’s digital transformation must be underpinned by shared policy foresight and collective action, particularly in aligning with the objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
“No single institution, no matter how well-resourced, can drive this transformation alone,” he warned.
Specifically, he proposed several strategic levers that policymakers must act upon urgently to make the vision a reality.
Among them are attracting sustainable investment into fintech and digital finance, aligning regulatory approaches to unlock seamless cross-border payments, operationalising the Digital Trade Protocol to support regulatory convergence, supporting SMEs and youth-driven innovation, and ensuring responsible adoption of stablecoins and digital assets.
To inspire policymakers with Ghana’s success stories, the Governor cited Ghana’s own initiatives, such as participation in the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) and the bilateral fintech passporting agreement with the National Bank of Rwanda as tangible steps toward this broader vision.
He revealed a new collaborative initiative with Rwanda and Singapore to pilot a Next-Gen Digital Payment Infrastructure Project, aimed at scaling cross-border payment innovation across the continent.
“Let this Forum be a turning point where vision meets action, where policy enables innovation, and where Africa steps confidently into its role as a digital financial powerhouse,” Dr. Asiama concluded.
Dr. Johnson Asiama is pushing for a continent that is fully digitally transformed under the AfCFTA framework. He is convinced the path to prosperity lies not in isolation, but in integration, and the time to act is now.
