E-Financial
Fintechs Charged to Drive Borderless Trade in Africa
The business community in Nigeria and players in the Fintech sector have been charged to take advantage of the opportunities that abound in the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) by developing intra-African payment solutions to ease trade settlements.
L-R: Liman V. Liman, DG, Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations and Ag. Chief Trade Negotiator; Stanley Peters, ED, Technology Development & Innovation, Global Accelerex; Sen. Ibrahim Musa, Chairman, NEPC; Tunde Ogungbade, MD, Global Accelerex, and Sam Egube, Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Lagos State, at the PoS Innovation Summit organised by Global Accelerex recently at Eko Hotel, Lagos.
This recommendation, amongst others, was discussed at the 7th Edition of PoS Innovation Summit organised by Global Accelerex with the theme “African Continental Free Trade Agreement : Driving Borderless Trade Through Fintech”.
Gathered at Eko Hotel and Suites last week was a sea of curious heads: from financial regulators to senior bankers, from top management staff of Fintech companies to major players in the import and export space; the summit had delegates from all walks of life who came to get critical insight on how Fintech can drive AfCFTA, one of the hottest topical issues in continental discourse today.
Tunde Ogungbade, Managing Director of Global Accelerex, set the tone for the event with thought-provoking questions in his welcome remark, which centered around how Fintechs can facilitate easy and seamless payment across Africa in this new era of borderless trade and how the former bottlenecks and barriers can translate to breakthroughs and possibilities for continental commerce.
Riding on his tide, the Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, who was represented by the DG, Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations, Liman V. Liman, explained the intricacies of the treaty, pointing out that African countries stood to gain a whole lot by doing business with each another.
He opined that the pact, which has a goal to create a single market that allows free flow of goods and services across the African continent, would expand intra-African trade through harmonisation, liberalisation and facilitation of trade instruments across Africa.
During his keynote address, Mr. Kunle Elebute, the Senior Partner, KPMG Nigeria and Chairman, KPMG Africa, who was ably represented by Senior Manager, Technology Advisory at KPMG, Mr. Hilary Daudu succinctly explained that the non-existence of automated, secure, real-time and cost effective payment settlement systems across the African region leads to high cost of transactions and increases the viability of trading options outside the continent.
He urged Fintechs to leverage the Pan-African Payments and Settlement System to enable their customers send and receive fast, real-time retail and large value payments across Africa in their local currencies.
Speaking at the event, Senator Ibrahim Musa, the Chairman of Nigerian Export Promotion Council, reiterated the government’s support to Nigerian exporters and revealed some of the initiatives that were already put in place such as the Export Expansion Grant.
To contextualise the issues raised by the keynote speakers, the panel discussion session, which was moderated by the Head of Business News at Channels TV, Boason Omofaye, addressed the concerns raised by participants about impediments faced in their business transactions across Africa.
Panellists included the Lagos State Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Mr. Sam Egube; ED, Shared Services and Products, Fidelity Bank, Chijioke Ugochukwu; a member of NACCIMA, Kunle Eyitemi; a representative of the NEPC, Samuel Oyeyipo; and an exporter, Yetunde Adekunle.
As the conference came to a close, the burden of curiosity that rested on the faces of the participants at the beginning had lifted. In its place, hope and excitement were easily palpable. It was obvious that the summit had served its purpose, as attendees were eagerly looking forward to taking new territories with seamless payment processes on the wider African continent, a possibility that the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) guarantees.
Titan Trust Bank has selected Oracle FSS for its core and digital banking technology, it is understood.
The start-up bank recently obtained its license by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
It’s understood that Temenos and Infosys also competed for the deal.
The shortlist came down to the two most widely installed international core systems in Nigeria, Infosys’ Finacle and Oracle FSS’s Flexcube.
The Nigerian banking sector has seen a great deal of upheaval over the years, with many mergers, start-ups and closures. Flexcube is a well respected name since the late 1990s (the pioneer was Access Bank, now one of the country’s top five banks) and has been a commonly selected platform since then.
The new bank is believed to be one of five to have gained regulatory approval of late (Globus Bank is another).
Local media sources say the new licences stem from the Central Bank’s desire to attract new investments into the sector and better serve the country’s 50 million+ unbanked and under-banked citizens.
Titan Bank is said to be headed by a former executive director of Heritage Bank (which is a Finacle user).
Oracle FSS did not respond to request for comment.
International Monetary Fund (IMF), has appointed Tony Elumelu, Nigerian billionaire and group chairman of Heirs Holdings, owners of United Bank of Africa, to its advisory council on entrepreneurship and growth, convened by Kristalina Georgieva, the fund managing director.
The announcement was disclosed in a statement on Friday.
According to the statement, the IMF advisory council comprises global business leaders, policymakers, and academics dedicated to identifying and addressing regulatory barriers to entrepreneurship.
The IMF said Elumelu will be instrumental in ensuring that Africa’s entrepreneurship is central in policy making.
“Elumelu, Africa’s leading advocate of entrepreneurship and whose Foundation has funded, mentored, and trained over 25,000 African entrepreneurs since 2015, champions entrepreneurship as the engine for the economic transformation of Africa,” the statement reads.
“A self-made entrepreneur, Elumelu’s embracing of entrepreneurship is fundamental to his concept of Africapitalism, his belief that Africa’s private sector can and must play a leading role in the continent’s development, making long-term investments that deliver social and economic value.
“Elumelu will be instrumental in ensuring that Africa’s entrepreneurial potential is central to global economic policy making.”
Speaking at the inaugural meeting of the advisory council on March 26, Georgieva said the appointees would share their experiences on how macroeconomic and financial policies “can provide a supportive environment for innovation, entrepreneurship, and productivity — key ingredients for a thriving private sector and strong economic growth”.
Africa’s Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises, fintech industry, scaling remittances, and cross-border payments will be the driving forces behind the continent’s digital ballooning payments system, which is estimated to reach $1.5 trillion by 2030.
This is according to a MasterCard-commissioned study by Genesis Analytics, which states that the digital payments economy is growing faster on the continent.
This comes as the World Bank says Sub-Saharan Africa has shown significant growth in financial inclusion over the past decade, much of it driven by mobile money account adoption.
Dimitrios Dosis, president, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa at MasterCard, comments: “Africa is filled with immense possibilities, and its people have the potential to shape the global economy in the decades ahead.
“MasterCard remains deeply committed to driving digital transformation across the continent, working closely with entrepreneurs, merchants, banks, start-ups, telcos, and governments. By increasing our investments, expanding innovation, and fostering inclusion, we are helping build a more connected and accessible digital future.”
The payment technology company went on to say as a longstanding technology partner to Africa, its continues to strengthen its commitment to the continent’s digital growth through strategic investments, public-private partnerships, and innovation initiatives that drive financial health and economic growth.
In addition, it says trends in Africa signal a strong shift towards digital transactions, with businesses and consumers increasingly embracing contactless solutions, further accelerating economic participation and financial accessibility across the region.
“For over five decades, MasterCard has worked alongside African governments, businesses, and communities to advance financial inclusion and economic development.
“With Africa projected to host nine of the world’s 20 fastest-growing economies, we are focused on leveraging our expertise and a technology to support the continent’s continued digital transformation.
“Our investments today will help build a more resilient economy for the future,” says Mark Elliott, division president, Africa, MasterCard
By fostering collaboration with key stakeholders, MasterCard says it aims to enhance digital connectivity, expand economic opportunities, and enable millions of people and businesses to thrive in the digital economy.
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