Payments, commerce, logistics are critical for Africa’s inclusive digital transformation, says CEO of Flutterwave.

Payment, commerce, and logistics, according to Flutterwave CEO Olugbenga “GB” Agboola, are the three major pillars that can help Africans effectively leverage digital transformation for inclusive and sustainable development.

“These pillars support the free movement of money, people, goods, and services across borders,” he said.

Agboola commented as a panelist in a discussion titled “How Can the U.S. Support an Inclusive Digital Transformation in Africa?”.

The session was part of the activities for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s US-Africa Leaders Summit 2022 in Washington, D.C.

“For Flutterwave to build a payment infrastructure that connects more than 30 of 50+ African countries, we had to visit every country on the continent, get different licenses, build partnerships, and connect with regulators,” Agboola said, acknowledging challenges to the growth of digital transformation in Africa.

“At the end, we have over 500 payment partner integrations at Flutterwave that must be maintained daily”.

Engr. John Tanui, Kenya’s Principal Secretary, State Department for ICT and Digital Economy; Mr. Lacina Kone, Director General and Chief Executive Officer of Smart Africa; and Mr. Christopher Burns, Chief Digital Development Officer, United States Agency for International Development are among the other panelists (USAID).

Dr. Zainab Usman, Senior Fellow and Director of the Carnegie Endowment’s African Program, emphasized the significance of Africa’s digital ecosystem’s consistent growth.

Burns addressed the need for countries to embrace the responsible use of digital technologies in his remarks.

“When you look at the investments made across the continent over the last 20 years, they are deliberate investments that track everything from policy to infrastructure to services to capacity building.

“The reasons for this nascent investment strategy across Africa include a better understanding of digital transformation and its attendant risks, the effect of COVID-19 in hastening digital transformation, and the USAID Digital Strategy, which has made the promotion of secure, open, and inclusive country-level digital ecosystems around the world a priority for the US,” he explained.

Tanui discussed how his country fosters innovation through legislation and initiatives such as the Kenya Information and Communication Act, the ICT Universal Fund, the Data Protection Act, the Kenya National Innovation Agency, the Digital Economy Bill, and the Startup Bill, in order to “ensure a functioning legal and regulatory environment that does not stifle innovation.”

The official emphasized the government’s efforts to provide opportunities for innovators to pilot and commercialize their ideas in a timely manner.

“We established the National Council of Science, Technology, and Innovation, as well as the Kenya National Innovation Agency, to support innovative and promising ideas,” Tanui added.

Lacina stated that bold and innovative commitments from African Heads of State and Government, such as the Smart Africa alliance of 36 countries, would accelerate long-term socioeconomic development.

“What we at Smart Africa and other stakeholders should do is policy harmonization of the continent for investors to see Africa as a 1.3 billion market. When we leverage our youthful population and harmonize our regulations, we can become a startup continent with more than seven unicorns like Gbenga’s Flutterwave and improve intra-Africa trade.”

The panelists agreed that investments to achieve an inclusive digital transformation of Africa must be deliberate, holistic, and collaborative, involving national governments, private sectors, global players such as the United States, and civil societies.