45 % of adults in Africa don’t have access to financial services – Report

About 45 per cent of adults in Africa do not have access to financial ser­vices, the State of Inclusive Instant Payment Systems in Africa Report 2024 has revealed.

Additionally, the report, the 6th to be published by Afri­caNenda Foundation, stated that about 400 million people did not have access to digital tools to ac­cess financial services and build financial resilience.

It was commissioned by AfricaNenda Foundation in col­laboration with the World Bank and Economic Commission of Africa.

The launch was supported by the Bank of Ghana and GhIPPS.

The report provides a com­prehensive analysis of SIIPS’s penetration in Africa on how instant payment was promoting financial inclusion in Africa.

The Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Ernest Addison, in a speech read on his behalf by the Director of Fintech and Innovation, Kwame Oppong, at the launch in Accra yesterday described the report as compre­hensive.

He said it represented the commitment of African to promote the future of sound financial health of Africans.

Dr Addison stated that the report highlighted the successes of instant payment in Africa and challenges that must be addressed.

The Governor entreated the participants programme to focus on innovations that fostered economic resilience.

“As we launch the SIIPS, we must focus on the transformative power of instant payment,” Dr Addison stated.

In this direction, Dr Addison noted that instant payment must be accessible, secure and friction­less.

The Chief Executive Offi­cer of AfricaNenda, Dr Robert Ochola, indicated that though the report highlighted the successes Africa had achieved in instant payment in terms of value and volume, there was much to be done to deepen instant payment in Africa.

He said Africa must double its efforts to address the barriers that hinder instant payment.

He said Africa needed to harness its resources in order to develop the continent.

He outlined that the pillars of the Africa transformation would depend on financial inclusion.

To this, the CEO of Afri­caNenda called for an enabling regulatory environment to pro­mote instant payment in Africa.

BY KINGSLEY ASARE

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