Aims to Empower African Foreign Trade SMEs

KIGALI, RWANDA – Media OutReach Newswire – 26 March 2026 – XTransfer, world’s leading B2B cross-border financial platform, was honoured to have its Chief Strategy Officer, Neil Ni, participate in the Remittances Roundtable: Policy and Partnerships Shaping the Next Generation of Cross-Border Flows at the Inclusive FinTech Forum 2026 in Rwanda, underscoring the company’s commitment to advancing faster, cheaper, and more transparent cross-border flows across Africa, especially for SMEs engaged in international trade.

During the session, Neil joined a roundtable featuring Bernard Rwisumbura Nsengiyumva of the National Bank of Rwanda, Dr Francis Lwanga of Zambia Electronic Clearing House Limited, Owureku Asare of the Bank of Ghana, Mike Truter of Swift, and other distinguished guests, moderated by Luca Antonio Ricci of the International Monetary Fund. The panellists explored what will practically move remittances and cross-border flows forward in 2026–2027, including interoperability, corridor liquidity and FX constraints, and proportionate compliance.

One theme that resonated strongly is that policy is starting to catch up with market needs. A timely example is the new cross-border payment access initiative by the central banks of Kenya and Rwanda (announced 11 March 2026), which introduces mutual recognition and a “fast-track” pathway for licensed payment providers operating between the two countries. Neil noted that reducing duplicative licensing steps, aligning core compliance expectations, and improving supervisory coordination can shorten expansion timelines, lower administrative costs, and ultimately support more reliable and affordable cross-border payments.

“As we look to the next phase of growth, what matters is not only innovation in rails, but alignment in rules and execution,” Neil said. “Interoperability, proportionate compliance, and corridor liquidity are levers that can make cross-border flows meaningfully faster, cheaper, and more transparent without compromising trust.”

Drawing on XTransfer’s experience supporting SMEs in global trade, Neil shared that a practical roadmap includes building on interoperable infrastructure, implementing robust and scalable compliance, and partnering with regulators and local ecosystems to strengthen transparency and unlock corridor liquidity. He added that this is a key reason XTransfer is building X-Net, the industry’s first Unified Global B2B Trade Settlement Network and Risk Control Platform, to connect ecosystem partners and support safer, more standardised information flows for cross-border trade and payments.

Hashtag: #XTransfer #Crossborder #Payment #SMEs #Africa

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About XTransfer

XTransfer, world’s leading B2B Cross-Border Trade Payment Platform, is dedicated to providing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with secure, compliant, fast, convenient and low-cost foreign trade payment and fund collection solutions, significantly reducing the cost of global expansion and enhancing global competitiveness. Founded in 2017, the company is headquartered in Shanghai and has branches in Hong Kong SAR, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, the United States, Canada, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, the UAE, and Nigeria. XTransfer has obtained local payment licenses in the Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong SAR, Singapore, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, the United States, Canada, and Australia. To date, XTransfer serves over 800,000 enterprise clients worldwide.

By cooperating with well-known multinational banks and financial institutions, XTransfer has built a unified global multi-currency clearing network and a data-based, automated, internet-based and intelligent anti-money laundering risk control infrastructure centred on SMEs. XTransfer uses technology as a bridge to link large financial institutions and SMEs around the world, allowing SMEs to enjoy the same level of cross-border financial services as large multinational corporations.

XTransfer completed its Series D financing in September 2021 and achieved unicorn status. The company has a diverse composition of international investors, including D1 Capital Partners LP, Telstra Ventures, China Merchants Venture, eWTP Capital, Yunqi Capital, Gaorong Capital, 01VC, MindWorks and Lavender Hill Capital Partners.

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Democracy is on the defensive. This is shown by the Bertelsmann Stiftung’s Transformation Index 2026 (BTI). The BTI was first surveyed twenty years ago, when democracies were still in the majority. Today, 56 percent of the 137 countries surveyed by the BTI are ruled autocratically. However, this rarely leads to better governance. Autocracies are more susceptible to corruption, less capable of shaping the future, and less consensus-oriented. However, examples such as Poland and Brazil show that social resistance and political competition can pave the way back to democracy.

GÜTERSLOH, GERMANY – Newsaktuell – 26 March 2026 – A majority of 77 of the 137 states surveyed by the BTI are now ruled autocratically and are taking increasingly repressive action against the opposition, the media and civil society. Of these countries, 52 are hard-line autocracies in which fundamental rights are completely disregarded – more than at any time since the survey began in 2006. But autocratic tendencies are also gaining ground in numerous democracies. “Many elected governments have undermined core democratic institutions in order to stay in power, and this paves the way for autocracy,” says democracy expert Sabine Donner.

In 54 percent of the countries, elections no longer meet minimum standards. In some countries, such as Gabon or Niger, they were suspended after military coups, while in Belarus, Russia and Rwanda they are strictly controlled legitimizating rituals. However, numerous free and fair elections also led to peaceful changes of government. In Madagascar, Tanzania and Venezuela, mass protests following rigged elections were violently suppressed, but strengthened political mobilization beyond the election date.

Examples such as El Salvador, Serbia and Turkey show that the repeatedly touted promise of authoritarian efficiency is rarely fulfilled. Corruption is insufficiently combated in more than 100 countries, two thirds of which are autocracies. “In autocracies, loyalty must be rewarded and positions secured,” says BTI expert Hauke Hartmann. “The supposed efficiency of authoritarian regimes is a myth.”

However, persistent grievances continue to ensure that protests by dissatisfied citizens show no sign of abating. In Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka, protests forced a democratic opening, while a democratic turnaround was achieved in Brazil and Poland. “The BTI shows how much pressure democratic institutions are coming under – at the same time, we are seeing remarkably lively resistance to their erosion in many places,” says Daniela Schwarzer, Member of the Executive Board, Bertelsmann Stiftung. “This ability to mobilize, which comes above all from an active civil society, is a key potential for democratic renewal.”

www.bti-project.org

Additional information:
Since 2006, the Bertelsmann Stiftung’s Transformation Index has analyzed the quality of democracy, market economy and governance in 137 countries every two years. Currently, 23 OECD countries, such as Germany and the USA, are not part of the study. The study was carried out between February 1, 2023 and January 31, 2025.

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About the Bertelsmann Stiftung

The Bertelsmann Stiftung is committed to ensuring that everyone can participate in society – politically, economically and culturally. We put people at the center of everything we do. Because it is people who can move the world, change it and make it a better place. To this end, we develop knowledge, impart skills and develop solutions. The non-profit Bertelsmann Stiftung was founded in 1977 by Reinhard Mohn.

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 26 March 2026 – On the afternoon of 21 March, the 2026 Ningbo Image Overseas Exhibition took place at the Hong Kong CineArt MegaBox. Using visual media as a connecting thread, the event built a bridge for cultural exchange between Ningbo and Hong Kong, allowing Hong Kong audiences to experience the charm of Ningbo up close.

The event comprised three components: a Ningbo-themed film screening, a creative salon, and the ‘Experience Ningbo’ city exhibition, attracting enthusiastic participation from staff and students of Hong Kong Baptist University, as well as local cultural figures.

The Ningbo-themed film screening presented three films from Ningbo and five short films from the 30°Ningbo Short Film Festival, showcasing Ningbo’s cultural heritage and natural scenery through the lens.

The creative salon invited three guests—director Jiang Xiaoxuan, Hong Kong Baptist University lecturer Lai Kin-fung, and Southern Film Company Limited‌ Manager Lin Yunhua—to explore new avenues for the visual dissemination of local culture from the perspectives of film and television production and the cultural fusion between the two regions.

The “Experience Ningbo” exhibition, through the promotion of local cuisine and scenic beauty alongside displays of urban cultural and creative products, allowed audiences to experience Ningbo through both sight and taste. Many visitors expressed their desire to visit Ningbo in person.

This event created a “visible, tangible and portable” record of the city’s culture, further deepening cultural exchanges between Ningbo and Hong Kong. Moving forward, the film exhibition will tour more overseas cities, using the medium of film to promote Ningbo to the world.

Hashtag: #2026NingboImageOverseasExhibition

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