From the continent, for the continent: Building local instant payment systems to boost financial inclusion in Africa
Africa is undergoing a digital transformation marked by the growing adoption of mobile phones, including in remote areas, rapid innovation in fintech, and the ongoing development of public digital infrastructure such as interoperable payment systems and digital identification frameworks. These trends lay the essential foundations for inclusive economic growth.
Dr Robert Ochola, CEO de la Fondation AfricaNenda, et Premier Oiwoh, Directeur Général _ CEO de NIBSS
Yet nearly 400 million Africans remain financially excluded, unable to access the most basic formal financial services. This contradiction is not only unacceptable and unsustainable, but it also risks deepening inequalities and limiting the impact of innovation. Closing this gap is crucial not only for economic development, but also for empowering communities, unlocking productivity, and ensuring that the digital revolution benefits everyone, everywhere.
As highlighted during the recent peer-learning visit held in Lagos by the AfricaNenda Foundation in collaboration with the Nigeria Inter-bank Settlement System (NIBSS), it is time to move beyond reliance on imported systems and promote payment solutions designed and owned by Africans, tailored to our local realities. This event brought together senior stakeholders from across the continent to learn, reflect, and act.
Why local matters
Imported technologies can offer speed, but they do not necessarily guarantee suitability. African financial systems must account for our informal economies, linguistic diversity, infrastructure gaps, and our shared ambition for equity. As Dr Robert Ochola, Director General of the AfricaNenda Foundation, reminds us: “Africa can build its own systems and make them world-class.”
The goal is not simply to digitize, but to include. That means designing systems from the margins and making them accessible to the most vulnerable, notably women, youth, and the unbanked. True inclusion also requires USSD access for those without smartphones, the deployment of agent networks in remote areas, the provision of offline solutions, and fee structures that protect the poorest. It also involves building trust, not just technology.
NIBSS: a model of inclusive, scalable African innovation
The Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) has long been a pioneer in Africa’s digital payments landscape, and its journey has just reached a major milestone.
Handling nearly one billion transactions each month, NIBSS is a 100% local payment system that operates 24/7 with real-time settlement, robust security, and inclusive features serving banks, fintechs, and other financial service providers.