By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The chief executive of Flutterwave, Mr Olugbenga Agboola, has highlighted three pillars for the achievement of an inclusive digital transformation in Africa.
Speaking at the recently-concluded US-Africa Leaders Summit 2022, the tech entrepreneur said these ingredients are payment, commerce and logistics.
“The three major pillars that can help Africans effectively leverage digital transformation for inclusive and sustainable development are payment, commerce and logistics. These pillars support the cross-border movement of money, people, goods and services without barriers,” he submitted.
Mr Agboola was one of the panellists at a discussion titled How Can the US Support an Inclusive Digital Transformation in Africa? at the international summit hosted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, DC.
Other discussants were Mr John Tanui, Principal Secretary of the State Department for ICT and Digital Economy in the Republic of Kenya; Mr Lacina Kone, Director General and Chief Executive Officer of Smart Africa; and Mr Christopher Burns, Chief Digital Development Officer, US Agency for International Development and Director for Technology in the Innovation, Technology and Research Hub at USAID.
Mr Agboola informed the participants that, “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. At the end, we have over 500 payment partner integrations at Flutterwave that must be maintained daily.”
The panellists agreed that investments aimed at achieving an inclusive digital transformation of Africa must be deliberate, holistic, and collaborative to include national government, private sectors, global players like the US, and civil societies.
According to Mr Tanui, “The Kenya government, through many bills and initiatives like Kenya Information and Communication Act, ICT Universal Fund, Data Protection Act, Kenya National Innovation Agency, Digital Economy Bill, and the Startup Bill, has been working hard to ensure a functioning legal and regulatory environment that does not stifle innovation.”
