Newsletter - April 2024

NEWS

Ground set to ease access to digital financial services and expansion of digital public infrastructure in Africa

To accelerate the expansion of digital public infrastructure, translating into universal access to digital financial services for all Africans, the African Union Commission has entered a strategic partnership with AfricaNenda, which aims to develop an advocacy program to support?the Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa?(2020-2030), policy harmonization in Africa, and contribute to implementing the strategy’s roadmap with a particular focus on Inclusive Instant Payments Systems in Africa. ENG FR

AfricaNenda and GIMAC convene a workshop to advance financial inclusion in Central Africa

Building upon their commitment to driving financial inclusion and digital innovation across Central Africa, AfricaNenda and GIMAC have hosted a transformative workshop from March 12th to 14th in Douala. ENG FR

Cape Verde: balancing between digital payment promotion and cash resilience

By fostering financial inclusion and digital transactions, countries can reduce the use of cash and thereby benefit from the increased safety, efficiency, and transparency of a cashless economy. Yet, there are counterforces working against digitalization. ENG FR

BLOGS

Sabine Mensah: “Lack of transparent data is hampering Africa's capacity to leapfrog inclusive instant payment systems!”

“While on a speaking tour in 2022 to disseminate findings from a report I co-authored, a central bank official from West Africa shared a key observation. Our report aimed to document the relationship between financial inclusion and the infrastructure provided by inclusive, instant payment systems and was based on publicly available data. But as the central bank official shared, the research was incomplete, because the publicly available data their country provided was outdated…” ENG FR

Navigating design choices: essential considerations for CBDCs, part II

We explore in this blog the key considerations, principles, and the human-centered design approach needed to create inclusive digital currencies. ENG FR

PUBLICATIONS

SIIPS Collection: Barriers and opportunities to addressing women’s digital financial inclusion

This publication is an excerpt from the State of Inclusive Instant Payment Systems (SIIPS) in Africa 2023 report, by AfricaNenda, the World Bank Group, and the United Nations Commission for Africa. It sheds light on how IPS can address barriers to women’s financial inclusion.

SIIPS Collection: Cross-border retail payment policy and regulatory harmonization

This publication is an excerpt from the State of Inclusive Instant Payment Systems (SIIPS) in Africa 2023 report, by AfricaNenda, the World Bank Group and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. It shines a spotlight on cross-border payments and the regulatory context in which they operate, as well as the building blocks for policy harmonization.

IN THE MEDIA

Digital Payment Access is Steadily Increasing. What Barriers Remain?

The instant payment ecosystem in Africa continues to show increased dynamism, as the number of instant payment systems (IPS) expands and more transactions run through them, as documented in the?State of Inclusive Instant Payment Systems in Africa 2023?report (SIIPS 2023).

WEBINAR

FinDev and AfricaNenda portal on women's financial inclusion and the results of the SIIPS 2023 report

In this webinar in French organized in collaboration between the FinDev Portal and AfricaNenda, our experts delved into the findings of the SIIPS 2023 report. Our panelists placed particular emphasis on financial inclusion for women in Francophone Africa. They discussed key trends in instant payment systems and their crucial role in financial inclusion. Participants had the opportunity to understand the specific challenges faced by women and to discover some inspiring initiatives in the region.

JOIN OUR COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE