Founding Director of Pave Financial, Kwamena Afful has stated that Africa already possesses the technological capacity required to achieve financial interoperability across the continent, but what is left is the broad stakeholder commitment to integrate and make it work.
Speaking at the 3i Africa Summit 2026 in Accra, he stressed that the challenge facing Africa is no longer about the absence of technology, but rather the need for stronger collaboration, policy alignment and implementation.
According to Mr Afful, the continent has made significant progress in digital finance and payment systems over the years, placing African markets in a strong position to deepen cross-border transactions and financial inclusion.
“We already have the technologies needed to create interoperability,” he remarked, noting that what remains essential is the collective commitment among governments, regulators, financial institutions and fintech firms to integrate existing systems effectively.
He further explained that improved interoperability would help facilitate seamless transactions across African countries, reduce the cost of payments and strengthen intra-African trade under the framework of the African Continental Free Trade Area.
The 3i Africa Summit brought together policymakers, investors, fintech leaders and industry stakeholders to deliberate on innovation, investment and infrastructure development within Africa’s digital economy.
Participants at the summit highlighted the growing importance of collaboration in building resilient financial ecosystems capable of supporting the continent’s economic transformation.
”We are seeing transaction corridors open up across countries like Nigeria and others in the region, where these systems are increasingly being connected. But our core belief remains that entirely new companies will emerge to fundamentally reimagine the financial stack,” he continued.
”For this reason, we are particularly interested in supporting builders who are rebuilding core infrastructure. Great consumer businesses that already have a robust distribution network and are able to efficiently reach customers at scale will, in our opinion, emerge on top of that rebuilt stack,” he added.
