Africa lags far behind the world in mobile adoption and innovation despite gains – MTN CEO
Chief Executive Officer of MTN Ghana, Stephen Blewett has despite the gains that are being made in Africa relative to digital technology, the continent still lags far behind the world in mobile adoption and innovation.
Constraints such as low infrastructure coverage, affordability of data and smartphones, and lack of digital skills training continue to inhibit access to the Internet among vulnerable groups, especially women, he said.
He made the statement at the opening of the 3i Africa Summit ongoing at the Accra International Conference Center.
The summit is being organized under the theme ‘Unleashing Africa’s FinTech and Digital Economic Potential,’ and provides an opportunity to foster collaboration among diverse stakeholders to drive innovation across Africa.
The 3i Africa Summit is a collaborative initiative by the Bank of Ghana, Development Bank of Ghana, and the Monetary Authority of Singapore to showcase and stimulate Africa’s FinTech and digital potential. It is a groundbreaking global event focused on transforming Africa’s economic landscape through sustainable, long-term capital allocation.
In his address, Mr. Stephen Blewett highlighted the importance of the African fintech ecosystem as a driving force towards a digital revolution.
He said, “Africa’s fintech ecosystem is the engine that will drive its digital revolution and economic development in the coming years. Fintech can stimulate local economies and drive progress across the continent in several ways – financial inclusion, innovation and entrepreneurship, job creation, cross-border transactions and payments, digital identity and security, agriculture and rural development, government services, investment, and funding, as well as digital and financial literacy. The success of services like MTN’s Mobile Money and Vodafone and Safaricom’s M-pesa provide sufficient evidence of the ability of fintech to revolutionize business on the continent and provide millions of people with access to essential financial services.”
He added, “Despite these gains, Africa lags far behind the world in mobile adoption and innovation. Constraints such as low infrastructure coverage, affordability of data and smartphones, and lack of digital skills training continue to inhibit access to the Internet among vulnerable groups, especially women. We must therefore make every effort to remove these bottlenecks and close the usage gap by improving data coverage and lowering the cost of data and data-enabled devices especially in rural and low-income areas and enhance digital literacy.”
Stephen Blewett also spoke on the issue of sustainability and urged business leaders and policymakers to contribute to ensuring that the right ESG practices remain key in their commercial activities.
“We must not lose sight of the impact that our actions have on our environment and society and strive towards creating shared value in business outcomes. We must progressively reduce our carbon footprints by investing in renewable energy, and other energy-efficient tools and technologies that lead to efficiency. We must take up the challenge of placing Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) at the heart of our commercial activities and support the achievement of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. I believe that together, we can shape an Africa that not only thrives in the digital age but also serves as a shining example of inclusive and sustainable development.”
Other speakers from MTN are Shaibu Haruna, CEO of Mobile Money Limited Ghana and Eli Hini, CEO MoMo PSB, Nigeria. The rest are Cedric Nguessan, MTN Group Finco Payments and E- Commerce, Angela Mensah-Poku, Chief Enterprise Business Officer MTN Ghana, and Dario Bianchi, Chief Digital Officer, MTN Ghana.
