A two-day Africa Money and DeFi Summit West Africa has been held in Accra with a call on central banks and financial regulators to see fintech as opportunity and provide accommodating regulatory environment for responsible innovations. The summit, which was attended by nine selected ventures to display innovative Web3, Blockchain, Fintech, and Decentralised Finance (DeFi) was on the theme: ‘Unpacking Financial Innovation, Regulation and CBDC’s.’ It focused on forging connections and bridging the gap between African ventures, corporates and global investors and drew applications from Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, South Africa, Zambia, Namibia, and Côte d’Ivoire Mr Kwame Oppong, Head, FinTech and Innovation at the Bank of Ghana made the call when he delivered the keynote address on: ‘Leveraging Fintech for Economic Growth’ to open the summit. He said: ‘Ghana saw the opportunity of fintech and began to work to provide a resilient and forward-looking payment ecosystem and regulatory framework that can accommodate changing trends and is fast becoming attraction to many.’ He stated that Africa as a continent had been dubbed the least defrauding continent, saying; ‘it is rightly so because we have shown remarkable resilience, adaptability and innovation in the face of this challenge.’ Mr Oppong noted that fintech had emerged as a powerful force, driving financial inclusion and economic growth; from mobile payment to blockchain technology, and Africa fintech innovators were harnessing these self-solutions to overcome the long-standing barriers to economic progress. ‘Today I would share some insight into how fintech has fostered economic growth and how more can be done. Fintech has advanced financial inclusion by creating access and extending financial services to particularly the underserved in remote areas. ‘Mobile banking, mobile money and digital payment platforms have enabled people without the traditional bank accounts to participate in the financial sector. Africa is now well-known leader in mobile money services. This inclusion has allowed individuals to save, invest and gain access to credit thereby contributing to financial stability and economic growth,’ he stated. He said fintech has enabled access to credit, provided support for Small and Medium Enterprises, and increase efficiencies in financial services delivery. It has also promoted innovation, competition and enhance things that are basic, particularly revenue mobilization by government and all these anchored effectively in economic resilience as we saw during the COVID-19 crises. Mr Oppong stated however, that there is still untapped potential for fintech to drive more economic growth across the globe and that for instance, things that drive an effort that would bridge the gap between the rural/urban divide and enable residents of most regions participate in the fintech formal sector. ‘It can help resolve complexities that are so sited across border transactions and trade and support the growing demand for sustainable and responsible finance. Fintech cannot fully thrive in the vacuum, especially as it relied on the application of technology in a regulated industry, which is finance,’ he said. Mr Andrew Fassnidge, the Founder of Africa Tech Summit and organisers of the conference in an interview with the media said their purpose was to bring together fintech leaders, investors, regulators from the central banks of Ghana, Rwanda, Botswana, and others to do business and to decentralised finance across the globe. ‘We have a lot of companies, banks, startups, innovators from West Africa and across the continent and from Asia and Europe. So, they are here to do business and to connect to promote and decentralise fintech in the financial sectors,’ he stated.
Source: Ghana News Agency