Let’s embrace technology to harness fintech, digital innovation – Akufo-Addo

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has emphasised the importance of fintech and digital innovation for African governments to fully benefit from the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

He attributed this to AfCFTA’s potential to significantly alter the economic landscape and bring about transformation across the continent.

At the 3i Africa Summit in Accra, he underscored the necessity for African governments to adopt technologies that are currently reshaping the global economy and adapt them to the continent’s needs.

President Akufo-Addo further highlighted the need for African governments to make substantial investments in digital infrastructure, formulate policies, stimulate innovation, and attract investments.

“The African Continental Free Trade Area has laid the groundwork for a monumental shift in our economic landscape, the transformation that will reverberate across the length and breadth of our great continent. The numbers speak for themselves.

“By 2035, the AFCFTA aims to lift some 30 million Africans out of the clutches of extreme poverty while boosting simultaneously the incomes of some 68 million people. The agreement is projected to increase intra-African trade by some 52%, unleashing a wave of economic activity that generates some $450 billion to our collective GDP.”

“These are not mere statistics. These are testament to the potential that lies within our grasp a promising of a brighter future for all Africans. But to realise fully these benefits we must harness the transformative power of fintech and digital innovation. We must embrace the technologies that reshape the global economy and make them work for us, tailoring them to the unique needs and challenges of our diverse and dynamic continent.”

“Governments across Africa should invest heavily in the digital infrastructure that will fill the form of the backbone of our shared prosperity. We must create policies and foster innovation, encourage entrepreneurship and attract investment from both within and beyond our borders.

“We must promote interoperability to reduce transaction cost and delays tearing down the silos that have hindered our progress for too long and we must leverage the power of digital identity programmes such as Ghana card to improve access to financial services,” he stated.