3i Africa summit: ‘Innovation Without Infrastructure Cannot Scale’ — BoG

Second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Matilda Asante-Asiedu, has warned that Africa’s digital transformation risks deepening inequality unless policymakers deliberately build systems designed around the realities of the continent.

Speaking on Day Three of the 3i Africa Summit in Accra, Mrs. Asante-Asiedu said innovation alone cannot deliver meaningful inclusion without strong digital infrastructure, coordinated regulation and systems tailored to African needs.

Delivering a keynote address on the theme “The Policymaker’s Perspective: The Architecture of Inclusion – Building Africa’s Digital Future on African Terms,” she stressed that the continent’s next phase of digital growth must be built around inclusion, interoperability and trust.

“Innovation without infrastructure cannot and does not scale. Investment without systems does not reach people, and impact without inclusion will not last,” she stated.

According to her, Africa’s digital economy should not simply imitate foreign systems but instead be designed around the continent’s own social and economic realities.

“If Africa is going to build a digital future on its terms, then we must be clear what that means. It means designing systems that work for Africa and connect across the continent for scale,” she said.

Using Ghana’s mobile money ecosystem as an example, Mrs. Asante-Asiedu noted that financial inclusion in Ghana expanded rapidly because digital services were built around basic mobile phones and USSD technology rather than sophisticated smartphone applications.

She explained that millions of Ghanaians without smartphones or internet access were able to transact digitally because policymakers leveraged existing infrastructure already available to ordinary citizens.

Citing the World Bank Global Findex Report, she said Ghana’s financial inclusion rate had now reached 81 per cent largely due to the accessibility of mobile money and USSD-based services.

“For millions of people, that model has done more for financial inclusion than any sophisticated solution,” she stressed.

She also highlighted the role of mobile money agents in expanding financial access, describing roadside vendors and kiosk operators as central pillars of Ghana’s inclusion strategy.

“The woman at the roadside, in that corner shop, in that kiosk, who handles your cash-in and cash-out, is not some side conversation. She is central to the inclusion strategy,” she noted.

Mrs. Asante-Asiedu argued that Africa’s digital transformation must focus on solving practical barriers facing ordinary citizens rather than pursuing technology for its own sake.

“What barriers do our people face today? What infrastructure do we actually have that we can build upon? And what can we scale while ensuring that no one is left behind?” she asked.

On investment flows into Africa’s digital economy, she stressed that investors would only commit capital where systems are reliable, trusted and properly regulated.

“Capital flows where systems work, where payment rails are reliable, and where regulatory frameworks are clear and trust exists,” she said.

According to her, Africa must therefore strengthen payment systems, digital identity infrastructure, consumer protection and cross-border regulatory coordination to support the growth of digital trade and fintech businesses across the continent.

She further called for seamless harmonisation as African countries implement the African Continental Free Trade Area’s Digital Trade Protocol and fintech passporting frameworks.

“Nothing is more frustrating than trying to transact and then being caught in the middle and not being able to complete that transaction,” she observed.

Mrs. Asante-Asiedu cautioned that digital progress that benefits only already-connected populations would merely “digitize advantage” instead of promoting inclusion.

“The truest test for us is whether our systems work better for the market trader, the small business owner, the rural user, the farmer and the woman-led enterprise,” she stated.

She maintained that Africa had already demonstrated its ability to leapfrog traditional banking systems through mobile money innovation, but said the continent’s next phase of growth would require stronger coordination, trust and interoperable systems designed specifically around African realities.

“That is what building on Africa’s terms looks like, and that is the foundation on which our digital future must be built,” she added.

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