Critically, she added, while 86 per cent of firms have access to digital tools.

She indicated that only a small fraction uses them intensively enough to drive productivity gains.

Background

Nathalie Kouassi-Akon said that despite the inroads that sub-Saharan Africa has been making in the digital payment space, there are complex realities that must be addressed.

In her remarks at the 3i Africa Summit 2026 in Accra, she said internet use in sub-Saharan Africa has grown rapidly, increasing by over 115% between 2016 and 2021, more than 191 million additional people made or received digital payments between 2014 and 2021.

African firms pay up to 35 percent more for digital tools than their peers in other regions, Nathalie Kouassi-Akon, Divisional Director for West Africa at the International Finance Cooperation (IFC) has said.

Critically, she added, while 86 per cent of firms have access to digital tools.

She indicated that only a small fraction uses them intensively enough to drive productivity gains.

Background

Nathalie Kouassi-Akon said that despite the inroads that sub-Saharan Africa has been making in the digital payment space, there are complex realities that must be addressed.

In her remarks at the 3i Africa Summit 2026 in Accra, she said internet use in sub-Saharan Africa has grown rapidly, increasing by over 115% between 2016 and 2021, more than 191 million additional people made or received digital payments between 2014 and 2021.

Nathalie Kouassi-Akon outlined three priorities for scaling Africa’s digital economy: urgent integration of existing platforms, the structural conditions for sustainable success, and the critical role of public-private partnerships.

She argued that despite rapid expansion across the continent, digital ecosystems remain deeply fragmented. Payment systems frequently fail to communicate with each other, data cannot move securely across platforms, and small businesses struggle to scale beyond local markets even where digital tools are available.

“Without integration, Africa risks scaling silos rather than scaling growth,” she said, warning that innovation disconnected from interoperability would fail to deliver productivity or meaningful economic expansion.

For his part, Bank of Ghana Governor Johnson Pandit Asiama emphasised the growing role of digital finance in building a resilient fintech ecosystem.

The Governor said African fintech institutions must move beyond expanding access to delivering real value and measurable impact.

While noting that about 49 per cent of adults in sub-Saharan Africa now have digital financial accounts, he stressed that the focus should shift from access to scalability, efficiency, and meaningful use of financial services.

Dr. Asiama added that the next phase of digital finance will extend beyond basic payments to include digital credit, embedded finance, supply chain finance, and cross-border services, with particular attention to women, Micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and the informal sector.

He identified key challenges such as market fragmentation, high transaction costs, and weak regulatory coordination, and called for stronger system connectivity and collaboration across markets and institutions.

The Governor also outlined steps the Bank has taken to support digital finance, including developing a framework for virtual assets, issuing digital credit guidelines, advancing open banking, and promoting cross-border fintech activity.