ghananlpcommunity/ghana-gov-speeches-sentences huggingface dataset:
Incredibly, the PAPSS initiative supports interoperable transactions including retail payments through partnerships betwee n indirect participants such as electronic money issuers and direct participants like commercial banks as well as cross -border payments of capital markets infrastructure.
This holds a great potential for scalability of mobile money interoperability across the continent and provides a platform that enables innovation in cross-border trade.
The challenge, however, is that only a few of African countries have achieved full interoperability, which limits the ability to fully maximize the opportunity presented by the PAPSS platform in scaling mobile money interoperability.
This brings up pertinent legacy challenges that need to be addressed in this direction, prominent among which are inadequate payment infrastructure and inconsistent compliance, status of the regulatory frameworks, policy coordination, user education and security and fraud concerns.
PAPSS ended the year 2023 with 12 Central Banks – with six in the WAMZ region, three in the East Africa region (Central Bank of Djbouti, Central Bank of Kenya and 5 the National Bank of Rwanda) and three in the Southern Africa region (Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, the Bank of Zambia and the Reserve Bank of Malawi).
The Central Bank of Egypt, the Central Bank of the Comoros, the Central Bank of Tunisia, and the Bank of South Sudan are on the verge of signing on to the platform.
In terms of switches, Pesalink, Zimswitch and uniswitch have so far signed up while a total of 95 commercial banks, of which 37 are fully integrated and ready to transact.
The transaction volumes and values have been increasing, albeit, at a very slow pace.
Scaling up mobile interoperability across African nations would call for review of legacy payment infrastructures, better policy coordination among member countries, and effective public -private and joint international collaborations that leverage new technologies such as cloud -based infrastructure, distributed ledger technology (DLT) and regulatory sandbox initiatives.
The way forward is for African countries to leverage on the large technological savvy and youthful population to shape the future of payments to drive financial inclusion, intra -trade activities, and promote economic growth overall.
These developments would present an opportunity to transform the continent’s payment landscape in a way that would remove barriers for cheaper and more convenient cross-border transfers as well as reduced settlement times.
While this is almost a consensus belief, the challenge has been to decide on the best approach to achieve such a feat.
I would also like to point out that a few initiatives towards fostering mobile money interoperability at the inter-Africa level have been attempted in the past.
However, the lack of a collaborative approach and the divergence in the developmental levels of national payment systems across Africa – notably the lack of harmonization of regulatory frameworks in the payment systems including the PSP licensing requirements, KYC/CDD frameworks, financial and consumer protection provisions, financial dispute resolution process es, foreign exchange access and reporting regimes and data protection and cross border sharing – have led to untimely failures.
Overcoming these roadblocks requires concerted efforts from all stakeholders to create an ecosystem conducive to interoperability to address the specific challenges in the region.
Your Excellencies, interoperability has been a major policy priority for Bank of Ghana.
Over the years the Bank has pursued various initiatives to make payment across platforms faster, cheaper, and more efficient.
Our gh -link platform interconnects all the banks and financial institutions and enables accredited financial institutions to issue cards that are accepted nationwide across ATM and POS networks.
Additionally, in 2012 , we launched the gh -link EMV Card, card payment scheme which provides Ghanaians with a secured “home grown” card, that reduces the cost of securing and using an ATM card.
Beyond bank and card interoperability, the Bank in 2018 through collaboration with key stakeholders launched the mobile money interoperability system which links dis parate mobile money platforms and bank accounts as well as the e-zwich payment infrastructure.
This singular policy intervention has enabled individuals and enterprises to move 7 funds across networks.
At present, mobile money volume of transactions through the interoperability platform has increased over ten-folds since inception.
In conclusion, Ladies and Gentlemen, the advent of mobile money and mobile money interoperability has significantly transformed access to financial services in Africa, with a huge leap in the continent’s financial inclusion index.
It is about time Africa consider promoting mobile money interoperability to realize its full benefits of deepening financial inclusion and intra -Africa trade, which is critical for the success of the Africa Free Continental Trade Area (AfCTA).
Initiatives such as PAPSS are a step in the right direction.
The continent needs continuous deliberations such as this Dialogue Series to ascertain the best ways of supporting such initiatives that enable financial inclusion and intra-Africa trade flows.
I wish you fruitful discussions.
Joint Press Conference on Ghana and the IMF Short Statement by Governor Addison on completion of First Review of the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) Programme 19th January 2024 Thank you very much Stephane for the initial comments .
Before the Minister’s remarks, I will add a few comments to what the Mission Chief has just said.
During our last interaction, I had stressed on steadfast commitment from all sides and the Bank of Ghana (BoG) will work on delivering its mandate on price and financial stability.
The recent trends in inflation that the economy has witnessed in the course of 2023 suggest that we are on course.
A year ago, at this time , inflation was at around 54 percent .
Through strong and innovative policies , tight monetary conditions and relative exchange rate stability, inflation has been more than halved by the end of 2023 and is currently reported at 23 percent.
Several factors have supported the disinflation process and these include; monetary policy stance throughout 2023, stable crude oil prices which led to stable fuel prices with favourable impact on transportation costs, a relatively stable exchange rate environment , stronger FX reserve accumulation due to the gold for reserve programme, and favourable climatic conditions on the food supply chain process.
Looking ahead to 2024, our expectation is for inflation to ease further, underpinned by continued implementation of sound policies till inflation expectations are firmly anchored towards our single digit objective.
In this regard, the Bank of Ghana will continue to monitor both domestic and external developments and respond appropriately to ensure that the downward inflation trajectory observed in recent months is sustained without undermining growth.
The 2023 experience of a strong reduction in inflation and stronger growth is instructive.
The banking sector remains sound, liquid, and profitable.
The Bank of Ghana will continue to closely monitor banks’ capital restoration efforts in line with approved plans including through support from the Ghana Financial Stability Fund, following the impact of the Domestic Debt Exchange Program me (DDEP).
We expect early recapitalization to promote banking sector resilience and effective financial intermediation to help speed up macroeconomic economic recovery going forward.
With a successful conclusion of the first review, we need to begin to think of the second review of the program me and beyond .
While tentative indications point to sound implementation of policies through to December 2023, vigilance and commitment will be needed in 2024 to undertake all the structural reforms envisaged under the programme.
Implementation of these reforms to ensure the economy functions well will be critical.
I will finally add that although a challenging year confronts us, we remain confident about the ongoing economic recovery process and would want to stress the importance of executing the needed structural reforms to support a better functioning of the economy.
These structural reforms will be in ensuring long term sustainability of performance.
Let me thank all stakeholders who have worked with us collaboratively to get us to this point.
BANK OF GHANA eCEDI HACKATHON – AWARDS DINNER OPENING REMARKS DR ERNEST ADDISON GOVERNOR, BANK OF GHANA 14 DECEMBER 2023 1 His Excellency, the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana , Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia The Board of Directors of the Bank of Ghana Representatives of EMTECH, our esteemed hackathon partner Chief Executive Officers of Banks Representatives of the Ghana Association of Banks, Chief Executive Officers of FinTechs Representatives of the Telecom Chamber Representatives of the Ghana Technology Chamber Distinguished Guests Hackathon Participants Ladies and Gentlemen, 1.
Good evening to you all .
It is a great pleasure to welcome you all to the Awards Ceremony of the Bank of Ghan a’s maiden eCedi Hackathon.
I would like to express my profound appreciation to the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana, Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, for the able leadership shown in driving the national digitali sation agenda with impactful results .
Also, I would like to thank you for gracing this event despite your extremely busy schedule.
Your Excellency, this project, among many others in the offing, is being implemented by the Bank of Ghana within the broader national digitalisation programme.
Distinguished Guests, the information and communication technology space is changing rapidly and impacting every segment of global activities.
Each year welcomes a new digital technology solution that tends to revolutionise our way of life.
A case in point is ChatGPT which has taken 2 AI to new heights with mixed feelings of excitement and trepidation.
Despite the dizzying speed of such innovations, it is a force for good and a key determinant of our development trajectory .
Therefore, o ur ability to appreciate, adopt, and adapt to technology will help position the financial services industry to drive national development efforts.
Against this background , the Bank of Ghana has, in the past few years, championed policies and implemented financial market infrastructures that have created a supportive environment for the digital delivery of financial services.
Currently, the financial sector can boast of a variety of digital financial services, including payment, credit, savings , and investment products that are offered by banks and FinTechs.
New business models have emerged through FinTech channels and removed barriers to micro-credit as well as paved way for affordable and convenient inward remittance services.
These interventions have fostered financial inclusion in the country, evidenced by the phenomenal improvement in financial access from 41% in 2014 to 68% in 2021, according to the Global Findex Report of the World Bank.
This statistic also demonstrates the potential of technology in facilitating financial development and improving inclusive economic development, societal welfare, as well as poverty reduction.
Despite the progress made, much remains to be done to meet the financial service needs of every citizen in meaningful ways.
This therefore calls for an innovative mindset, creativity, and collaboration in exploring novel solutions of which a central bank digital currency is promising.
It is therefore our belief that the Bank’s CBDC will further push the frontiers of financial inclusiveness in the country.
Indeed, Bank of Ghana’s CBDC exploration journey is grounded on several policy imperatives, including financial inclusion, safety and efficiency of payments, and the growing digitalisation of the Ghanaian economy.
Beginning with the publication of a design paper, the Bank of Ghana communicated in clear terms its concepts of CBDC and solicited comments on how to proceed with a CBDC pilot project that will meet the needs and aspirations of Ghanaians.
Further to this, and in the spirit of continued collaboration, the eCedi Hackathon was announced .
The invitation for proposals targeted innovative ideas that leverage CBDC tokens and APIs to prototype solutions or develop tools that will promote the use of eCedi across the various sectors of the economy and with diverse payment scenarios.
The co- creating eCedi use cases with innovators, developers, user experience experts, and financial service providers is deemed a better and more feasible approach to mak e the digital currency appealing to diverse user groups, thereby promoting adoption.
This approach is also necessary for engendering universal appeal and sense of ownership among the populace.
This is the maiden hackathon organised by the Bank of Ghana and we are glad that it has received an overwhelming response from enthusiastic creative minds and innovators across countries and continents.
At the close of the submission of the innovation concept note (ICN) on October 20, 2023, 88 ICNs were received.
The number was pruned down to 68 for the pitch day.
Out of the 68 selected for the Pitch Day, 62 accepted the offer to pitch their solution.
After the Pitch Day, only 10 innovations were considered eligible for progression to the Demonstration Day.
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It is th ese10 finalists , who are here to climax the hackathon today and I would like to congratulate you for being among the approximately select 11% of the total innovation concept notes received from prospective participants.
The fascinating ideas and solutions generated by all the participants covered several areas including agriculture, government payments, business payments, taxation, securities, crowdfunding, interoperability, and credit scoring.
Again, I thank you for your brilliant eCedi use-case solutions.
However, per the rules of the game, your solutions would have to be ranked by the panel of judges and the best three innovations awarded accordingly.
The remaining seven will be awarded a certificate of participation.
The judges have accomplished the hard task of picking the best three (3) innovations among the ten (10) according to the competition criteria, vetted and supervised by Messrs KPMG, the assurance service provider of the eCedi Hackathon.
In case you do not win an award, do not be discouraged.
The benefits of the eCedi Hackathon are far bigger than the award.
Your solutions can be mainstreamed subject to further refinements.
You have also benefited from the valuable mentorship of seasoned professionals carefully selected for this project.
Keep up the momentum which made your participation possible, whether you win an award or not, and be driven by your quest to deploy solutions useful to society and that is the surest way to success in your innovation undertakings.
Be assured that there are many opportunities out there that you can explore and confidently go after them.
In conclusion, let me thank all of you for participating in this memorable event.
We appreciate the cross-country and cross-continent collaboration among innovators.
This demonstrates the potential of technology in fostering global partnerships and cooperation in searching for solutions to address the many challenges that confront mankind.
I would also like to 5 thank the judges for spending many hours on this project without a fee.
Despite the different time zones, you have sacrificed sleep and equally important assignments to support this project.
We are equally grateful to KPMG, for your critical support as an assurance partner on a pro bono basis.
The tool you provided has made the scoring easy and enhanced the integrity of the process.
And last but foremost is EMTECH, the partner of the Bank of Ghana in the conceptualisation, design, planning and implementation of this event, we are very grateful for your partnership.
I wish you the best with the competition and the next steps in your endeavours.
1 END OF YEAR COCKTAIL SHORT REMARKS BY DR.
ERNEST ADDISON GOVERNOR, BANK OF GHANA 14 DECEMBER 2023 2 Your Excellency, the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Honourable Minister of Finance, Mr.
Ken Ofori Atta Board Members of the Bank of Ghana and GhIPSS Members of the Financial Stability Council CEOs of Banks, GDPC, CSD and Other Financial Institutions Directors of the Bank of Ghana and the Ministry of Finance Distinguished Guests Ladies and Gentlemen.
It is a great pleasure and honour to host you to this short reception marking the end of what has become a very eventful year for the Bank and the financial sector.
I believe you agree with me that we have a lot to be thankful for as another challenging but fulfilling year gradually draws to a close , and how best to end the year than to have an announcement today of the biggest drop in inflation this year, now at 26.4 percent.
Let me first thank the President of the Republic , Nana Akufo-Addo for accepting to be a Special Guest for this evening’s reception.
As I said at the recent dinner of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, central banks have had to re-evaluate their mandate since the global financial crisis and supported fiscal policy to play a countercyclical role in stabilizing economies.
In the present “poly-crisis” world, central banks have found themselves broadening monetary policy formulation beyond interest rates to include the deployment of balance sheets in a variety of unconventional monetary policies.
Through effective collaboration with the Ministry of Finance, the Bank of Ghana has formulated monetary policies to keep the economy steady.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the policy mix under the IMF --supported PC-PEG programme is gradually yielding positive results.
From the peak of 54.1 percent in December 2022, headline inflation has declined to 35.2 percent in October 2023 and today it has fallen to 26.4%.
I kept on reminding people that inflation was at 12.7% in December 2021 and what 3 we saw in 2022 should not be used to judge us.
As you are aware there has been considerable noise from our detractors who have celebrated the high inflation recorded in 2022.
Today we are vindicated that inflation in 2022 was just a blip and we are quickl y returning to where we were before the crisis.
The country’s external sector position has also improved in the year, alongside some build- up in foreign exchange reserve buffers which has provided some stability in the foreign exchange market.
The high frequency economic indicators monitored by the Bank has continued to improve, signalling the likelihood of outperforming the GDP growth projection for the year.
Distinguished Guests, the financial sector has remained relatively stable and sound amid the series of shocks in the past six years.
Prudential data in the year to October 2023, show profitability of banks has remained relatively strong, and the Capital Adequacy Ratio, adjusted for the regulatory reliefs, was also higher than the revised prudential minimum.
The evidence is clear that the economy is responding well to the policy initiatives that have been put in place.
The Bank of Ghana has invested heavily in technology to correct some of the weaknesses we inherited with data integrity by Banks that misreported leading to failures in Banks and other SDIs in 2016.
A new Suptech tool, the Online Regulatory Analytic Survei llance System (ORASS) has been developed and completed this year and our staff have worked with our technology partners to develop tools that support the entire supervisory cycle from licensing to resolution.
The ORASS is a major reform using technology to enhance our oversight of the financial system and we are the first African Central Bank to develop such a system.
We have had Central Banks come from South Africa, Egypt , Barbados, Zambia and Solomon Islands to learn from us.
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We have also been working to deepen the digitization drive in the economy, including the development of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).
This evening , after the successful eCedi pilot, the Bank will announce the winners of the recently organised eCedi Hackathon to encourage and potentially leverage on the local CBDC innovation, exchange knowledge, and build partnerships.
Out of 88 applications from students, programmers, FinTechs, bankers, engineers, and FinTech enthusiasts, etc.
66 were selected for the hackathon.
Of this, 10 finalists have been shortlisted .
We will be announcing the winners immediately after this reception at the Kempinski hotel and invite all of you to attend.
We want to thank His Excellency the President, and the entire cabinet for the strong leadership exhibited which has helped to turn the fortunes of our economy.
To conclude, 2023 has been challenging but fulfilling.
We are confident about the economic outlook and expect to see significant improvement in the operating environment for businesses in 2024.
Let me once again thank you all for your attention.
I wish you all Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year in advance.
1 BANK OF GHANA ES T.
1 9 5 7 CAMBRIDGE SUPTECH WEEK 2023 CAMBRIDGE CENTRE FOR ALTERNATIVE FINANCE/ CAMBRIDGE SUPTECH LAB IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE BANK FOR INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENTS (BIS) AND THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY MRS.
ELSIE ADDO AWADZI SECOND DEPUTY GOVERNOR BANK OF GHANA 7TH DECEMBER 2023 2 Distinguished Colleagues, Ladies, and Gentlemen, 1.
I am honoured to have been called upon to deliver the keynote address at this inaugural 2023 Cambridge Suptech Week.
This initiative has provided a dynamic platform for key stakeholders to exchange ideas research initiatives, solutions, and insights pertaining to the digital transformation of financial supervision.
The financial services landscape around the world continues to undergo rapid transformation, with constantly changing business models and delivery mechanisms , blurring traditional boundary lines around and across the regulatory perimeter.
Supervisory authorities are stepping up to the opportunities and risks presented by emerging technologies and are increasingly enhancing their own capabilities to improve effectiveness, efficiency, and accountability in supervision.
As a regulatory and supervisory authority for banks and a range of other financial institutions, the Bank of Ghana has over the years invested in various technological tools to support its prudential, market conduct, and AML/CFT supervisory functions.
An e xample was the adoption of the Electronic Financial Analysis and Surveillance System (eFASS) in 2007–2008, providing an electronic portal for financial institutions to submit prudential returns.
While the eFASS tool helped somewhat, it had its limitations , including the rigidity of the system to accommodate the addition of newly licensed institutions, the inability to modify existing returns , add new returns, or generate ad-hoc reports and trend analyses, thereby limiting the system’s effectiveness after a few short years.
In addition to the above challenges with eFASS, while managing a systemic banking crisis in 2017 through 2019, the Bank of Ghana identified widespread data integrity problems in several failed banks, savings and loans companies , and microfinance institutions.
Following the resolution of these failed institutions, the Bank of Ghana deemed it critical to address the weaknesses and limitations in the eFASS supervisory tool and set out on a comprehensive study of Suptech models in use in advanced economies as well as in emerging and developing economies.
This eventually led to the design and implementation of a new Suptech tool from 2019 through 2022, that became known as the Online Regulatory Analytic Surveillance System (ORASS).
Some of the key features of ORASS include: Scope: It is designed to enhance the effectiveness of the Bank of Ghana’s supervision of banks and other credit institutions, fintechs and other payments service providers, among others.
It interfaces directly or indirectly with various business application systems of regulated institutions including their a ccounting (general ledgers), core banking systems, and treasury management systems.