Ghana’s Central Bank Governor Ernest Addison stated on Monday that the technology-savvy youthful population across the continent gives Africa an advantage in the digitization race.
Addison stated this at the opening of the three-day 3i Africa Summit on financial technology (fintech) and the digital economy, organized by the Bank of Ghana with support from Elevandi, organizers of the globally acclaimed Singapore Fintech Festival, and other central banks across Africa.
“As Africans, we have an advantage in the digitization race based on the rapidly expanding tech-savvy youthful population,” Addison stated.
He said the high mobile phone penetration, consistent expansion of mobile network access, and rising homegrown fintech solutions also present Africa with opportunities for technology-driven development.
He added that these factors have provided the opportunity to accelerate the digitalization agenda across the continent.
Addison, therefore, urged the private and public sectors to deliberately commit the requisite investments to help innovations transition into production to support the rapid growth of the continent.
“It is important to note that the lack of requisite investments in African fintechs could slow the pace of innovation and the scalability of solutions that could help to create a digitized Africa,” the governor noted.
Addison cautioned that without sufficient capital, the brilliant innovations by fintech startups, which have the potential to bring transformation to the continent, would fail to progress beyond the development stage.
Against this background, he said the three-day summit, themed “Unleashing the Fintech and Digital Economic Potential of Africa,” aims to share the African fintech narrative and discuss the opportunities and challenges to enhance collaboration among policymakers, investors, and innovators to advance the economic prosperity of the African continent and its partners.
Some central bank governors, some young technology innovators, technology startups, and students across Africa are also attending the summit, with some putting up exhibitions of their innovations, ideas, and products.