Without fintech-friendly policy alignment, AfCFTA’s goals risk stalling
By Joshua Worlasi AMLANU
Efforts to unlock the African Continental Free Trade Area’s (AfCFTA) full potential could falter if fintech regulation across the continent remains fragmented, Kwame Oppong, Head-FinTech and Innovation, Bank of Ghana, has warned.
Speaking at the 3i Africa Summit’s Policy Forum in Accra, the Head of FinTech and Innovation said progress toward AfCFTA’s ambitions – particularly for small businesses and consumers – hinges on aligning digital finance policies across African jurisdictions.
“Regulatory harmonisation has emerged as a key prerequisite to unlocking intra-African trade through digital financial services,” Mr. Oppong said, noting that cooperation among regulators is no longer optional but essential.
He pointed to ongoing partnerships such as Ghana’s work with the National Bank of Rwanda, which is exploring licence passporting and interoperable payment systems to enable seamless cross-border transactions.
As AfCFTA seeks to create the world’s largest free trade area by uniting 54 African nations, its success depends not only on physical infrastructure but also digital connectivity – especially in payments, digital identity and compliance systems.
Financial technology, seen as the enabler for inclusion and efficiency, risks becoming a bottleneck without coordinated oversight.
Mr. Oppong noted that the continent has moved beyond rhetoric, citing progress since last year’s 3i Summit.
“You’re seeing concrete deliverables and updates on initiatives launched in 2024,” he said, referencing regulatory sandbox programmes and digital asset consultations.
One such initiative is the Africa NextGen Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) project, which involves collaboration with the International Monetary Fund. The programme convenes central banks and technical experts to test solutions for secure, interoperable, cross-border payments.
Mr. Oppong said the project aims to build the digital infrastructure necessary to support movement of money and services across the continent’s borders.
He cautioned that the absence of harmonised standards on issues such as digital identity, data protection and virtual assets could impede the continent’s ability to scale fintech innovations beyond domestic markets. That, in turn, would undermine AfCFTA’s core goal of economic integration.
According to Mr. Oppong, current efforts are designed not just to develop policy but also engage the private sector and third-party providers in shaping regulatory outcomes.
“You’re seeing central banks actively bringing in fintechs and technical partners to co-create policies that work in the real world,” he said.
Ghana and Rwanda are playing lead roles in rallying other African regulators under the Global Financial Technology Network (GFTN), a multilateral initiative aiming to facilitate real-time regulatory collaboration.
The partnership seeks to build a shared framework that will allow digital financial service providers to operate seamlessly across African borders.
If successful, these efforts could lower the cost of doing business for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that currently face high barriers in sending and receiving funds across the region.
But without alignment, Mr. Oppong warned: “MSMEs and individuals will remain locked in fragmented markets and the promise of AfCFTA will not reach the people it was designed to benefit”.
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