By: Nana
Appiah Acquaye
African fintech leaders have
called for stronger digital ecosystems, wider financial service adoption and
greater collaboration among industry stakeholders as the continent seeks to
build on rapid growth in mobile money and digital payments.
The call emerged during a
Day Two panel at the MTN Group Fintech Summit 2026, where senior MTN fintech
executives examined the current state of Africa’s digital financial markets and
the measures required to deepen financial inclusion and create greater value
for customers.
The session, titled
“Africa’s Velocity Index: Where MTN Fintech Markets Stand Today,” brought
together MTN Mobile Money Zambia CEO Komba Malukutila, MoMo Uganda CEO Phrase
Lubega, MoMo Ghana CEO Shaibu Haruna, and MoMo Cameroon CEO Alain Nono.
The panel examined progress
across digital payments, mobile money, merchant acceptance, ecosystem readiness
and advanced financial services, assessing both the gains achieved and the gaps
that remain across African markets.
The executives discussed the
need to move beyond the expansion of basic payment services towards broader
financial solutions that can meet the evolving needs of consumers, merchants
and businesses.
They also explored the
importance of building market ecosystems that can support innovation, expand
merchant acceptance and increase access to more advanced financial services.
The discussion followed the
summit’s Regulatory and Policy Day, which brought together regulators,
policymakers and industry leaders to examine digital credit, data governance,
artificial intelligence, consumer trust and regulatory innovation.
Taken together, the sessions
highlighted the importance of closer cooperation between fintech operators,
regulators and policymakers in creating trusted, inclusive and sustainable
digital financial ecosystems.
The summit is being held
under the theme “Maximum Velocity As One,” emphasising collaboration and
collective action as key to accelerating the next phase of Africa’s digital
financial transformation.
