ghananlpcommunity/ghana-gov-speeches-sentences huggingface dataset:
You came here as co -architects of Africa's next financial chapter, and your active engagement and valuable contributions to the various sessions enriched the dialogues and outcomes.
This year’s summit, themed “The Next Frontier: Shaping Africa’s Integrated Fintech Future,” builds on the momentum of the 2024 and 2025 editions.
In 2024, our aim was to unleash Africa's fintech and digital economic potential.
In 2025, we deepened that charge under the banner of One Africa, One Market.
And in 2026, we arrived at the next frontier by structured implementation.
The theme enabled deeper and more focused discussions on advancing Africa’s digital financial ecosystem through the adoption of emerging technologies, as well as the strengthening of regulatory frameworks and institutional capacity, and deepening relevant partnerships towards achieving our critical goals.
While I am confident that the expectations of these discussions have been met, it is imperative that deliberate and coordinated actions follow, to translate dialogue into tangible outcomes.
The engagements over the past three days spanning from the main stage plenaries, the innovation hub, thematic tracks, technical sessions, policy dialogues, Governor's Roundtable, and the Capital Meets Policy Dialogue, have been both purposeful and forward-looking.
The rich discussions that took place in the halls of this arena collectively point us toward what I describe as a rebirth of Africa’s digital and financial ecosystem, which forms the focus of my closing remarks today.
Ladies and Gentlemen, a rebirth signifies renewal and growth.
These attributes are evident in the youthful and dynamic nature of Africa’s digital financial ecosystem, its agility, its expanding opportunities, and its immense potential.
At the same time, th is rebirth brings to light the challenges and complexities inherent in a developing system.
Notwithstanding these challenges, the ecosystem presents a compelling opportunity, one that must be nurtured and strategically guided to deliver sustainable and inclusive growth for the continent.
Before I proceed, kindly permit me to illuminate the achievements of Ghana as the gateway to Africa regarding financial stability, safety and economic growth driven by timely interventions and appropriate regulatory policies in the past year: • The Ghana Cedi has been stable over the past year, appreciating against major currencies; • Inflation is at 3.4 percent in April, 2026, one of the lowest since the inception of inflation targeting; • Annual GDP was 6.0 percent in 2025; • The Bank of Ghana Amended its Act to promote independence and accountability; • The Virtual Asset Service Providers Act, 2025 (Act 1154) was recently passed, giving us a clear, enabling, and protective framework for the next generation of digital finance; • The Directive for Digital Credit Service Providers has been issued to regulate digital credit providers; and • The Cyber and Information Security Directive was amended to strengthen resilience against evolving cyber threats, and ensure compliance with applicable regulatory and industry standards across the financial ecosystem.
These have contributed to safeguarding the trust and confidence within the financial ecosystem.
Today, we are announcing our commitment to: • Setting up the Innovation hub that will harness and incubate all innovations; • A separate legal framework for the FinTech regulation; • Build a framework and launch the Continental FinTech Sandbox; and • Operationalise the National FinTech inclusion programme.
For us, the most important indicator is one that reflected in every conversation in the halls and rooms over the past three days: a renewed confidence.
We have seen confidence in African policy and innovation.
As I near the conclusion of my speech, I would like to reiterate to my fellow financial regulators and government officials that: the work of harmonisation of financial systems, of licence passporting, of supervisory convergence will not be buried under these conversations.
We have to continuously champion and support its advancement.
To our esteemed investor partners, the moment to engage the African opportunity is now.
We seek capital that is patient, with partnerships that are enduring, to share our value.
To our founders and innovators: engage early with your regulator.
Invest in governance with the same intensity you invest in growth.
Treat consumer trust as the strategic asset it truly is.
The 3i Africa Summit 2026 draws to a close this evening; however, the work it has set in motion is only just beginning.
Let us carry forward its outcomes from Accra into our central banks, ministries, and boardrooms.
Let us sustain this momentum into the next summit, and ultimately into a continent.
Our sincerest gratitude goes to my fellow Governors and dignitaries who honoured our invitation and played critical roles across the three days.
A world class summit of this kind can never be a solo endeavour.
The 3i Africa Summit is grateful to the Bank of Ghana, GHIPSS and GTFN for collaborating to spearhead innovation, impact and investment in Africa.
Our profound gratitude to our platinum sponsors, Mobile Money FinTech Limited, ( MTN MOMO) for being our platinum sponsor with Tazama and Mojaloop.
To our Gold sponsors, PwC and Jumo, we're grateful for your investment.
A special thank you to our silver sponsors (Fidelity, Stellar Development Foundation, Yellow Card, Npontu and Pawa Pay.
And to our bronze sponsors (We wire, Pay stack, OA Markets , Fincra Nsano, Knet, Optasia, your support was instrumental in bringing this vision to life.
Special thank you to Bel Aqua, Fresh Drops and JP petroleum for being our hydration and energy sponsors.
And our innovation partners, your support and industry insight has been essential to the success of this summit.
Ladies and Gentlemen, permit me to take this opportunity to invite you all to the 3i Beach Rave taking place this evening at Sandbox Beach Club.
This gathering offers a relaxed setting for continued engagement, where we may strengthen the connections forged over the course of the Summit as we bring this remarkable convening to a close.
I will use this moment to specially celebrate the 3i Africa Summit Project team for their relentless efforts in organising this beautiful Summit.
On behalf of the Bank of Ghana, our co-hosts at GFTN and GhIPSS, and the people of the Republic of Ghana, I thank you sincerely for honouring our invitation to this year’s summit.
I wish you a safe journey home.
May God bless us all.
KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY MRS.
MATILDA ASANTE-ASIEDU SECOND DEPUTY GOVERNOR BANK OF GHANA AT THE GLITZ AFRICA GHANA FEMALE CEO SUMMIT THEME: UNLOCKING FINANCE AND MARKETS FOR WOMEN-LED ENTERPRISES: ACCELERATING TRADE, GROWTH AND ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION THURSDAY, 7 MAY 2026 KEMPINSKI HOTEL GOLD COAST CITY, ACCRA Honourable Julius Debrah, Chief of Staff to the President of the Republic of Ghana, Her Excellency, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Former President of the Republic of Liberia, Her Excellency, Jewel Howard Taylor, Former Vice President of the Republic of Liberia, Honourable Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, Minister for Trade, Agribusiness and Industry; Reverend Dr.
Joyce Aryee, Honourable Sylvester Mensah, Chief Executive Officer, Ghana EXIM Bank, Professor Akwasi Oppong-Fosu, Board Chairman, Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, Hon Members of Parliament, Members of the Diplomatic Corps, Board Chairs, Managing Directors, Esteemed Female CEOs and Women Leaders of Enterprise, Ladies and Gentlemen.
Good morning, it is a delight to be here.
They say the best rooms have the best energy and as I walked into this hall, I felt it immediately.
Please give yourselves a round of applause.
Another rousing applause to Claudia and the Glitz Africa team for convening this extraordinary gathering of Ghan a's most formidable female leaders.
Now that we have got the greetings out of the way, let me begin my remarks with a question.
How many of you have ever walked into a financial institution, smiled confidently, presented your business plan only to hear weeks later, we are sorry, we cannot fi nance your idea.
I’m sure most hands would go up if I asked for practical experiences.
Hold that experience in mind , because everything I said this morning is about dismantling the system that produced those outcomes.
The Power of Women in Ghana's Economy Women in Ghana, are no longer mere participants in the economy.
We are co-architects of its present and future.
From Makola's vibrant markets to agribusiness value chains and digital enterprises, women are the backbone of Ghana's MSME sector creating jobs, supporting families and strengthening economic resilience.
This itself is proof that women's leadership is central to national transformation.
As a long-standing advocate for women's economic empowerment, it is particularly meaningful to witness the growing momentum.
The Foundation We Are Building On Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, the numbers affirm what we already know.
According to the International Finance Corporation (IFC), 44% of SMEs in Ghana are women owned.
We have made commendable strides in financial inclusion.
The Global Findex 2025 report ranks Ghana among Sub -Saharan Africa's top performers, with account ownership rising to 81%, driven by mobile money expansion and the Bank of Ghana's interoperable payment infrastructure.
But we must be honest with ourselves: account ownership is only the starting point, not the destination.
The deeper work access to meaningful capital remains frustratingly incomplete.
And that gap is costing all of us.
The Scale of What We Are Losing Let me put numbers to that cost – with data, not sentiment.
The African Development Bank and the World Economic Forum document a $42 billion financing deficit for women entrepreneurs in Africa.
Yet less than 10% of women -led MSMEs access formal credit with the majority still relying on susu and informal sources due to rigid and standardi sed lending criteria.
These are not abstract statistics.
Every percentage point represents a real woman, with a real business and a real idea that never scaled not for want of drive, but for want of capital.
I am convinced that this is not a credit risk matter, but a market failure.
And market failures have market solutions which brings me to the strongest argument in the room.
The Business Case for Financing Women I want to address the financial institutions directly because what I am about to say is not moral appeal.
It is a commercial one.
Available data confirms that women have, on average, better loan repayment rates than men, and yet face a comparatively higher bar for loan approval.
In Ghana and Kenya, micro-lending fintechs targeting women have reported default rates below 2%, against an industry average of 5 –7%.
This is also documented across multiple microfinance institution portfolios globally.
Beyond repayment, the returns on investing in women ripple outward in ways no other segment can match.
A UNDP study shows that up to 90% of women's earnings are reinvested in families and communities, compared to 40% for men.
The Boston Consulting Group, after analyzing five years of accelerator data, found that women-founded and co-founded businesses generated 10% more cumulative revenue than men-led firms.
The conclusion is clear: the opportunity cost of not investing in women is not merely a social concern.
It is, in the truest sense, a commercial tragedy.
What Must Change and How Knowing this, what is required is not goodwill.
Nor gender-themed marketing campaigns.
But rather, Structural, product-level, policy-level change.
Let me be specific.
• Credit assessment must be redesigned.
Traditional credit scoring was never built with women in mind.
It relies on collateral, formal credit history, and asset ownership, these are three areas where structural inequality has historically disadvantaged women.
The IFCs gender -intentional credit scoring frameworks provide a tested blueprint; justifies the adoption of alternative data mobile money transaction histories, utility payments, supplier invoices, VSLA and susu records as legitimate inputs into creditwort hiness assessment.
Every transaction a woman completes is a data point.
The infrastructure to read those data points now exists, so let’s use it.
• Products must be fit for purpose .
The working capital needs of women -led MSMEs are often seasonal, transaction -based, and supply chain -linked.
Generic term loans are the wrong instrument.
What is needed are invoice -discounting facilities, supply chain finance, revolving credit matched to real business cash flow cycles, asset-light secured lending using moveable assets just to mention a few.
Lending to women must reflect how women do business.
• Capital markets must be activated.
On 3 March 2025, Ecobank Côte d ’Ivoire launched the Ellever Gender Bond, the first Gender Bond in the UEMOA region, valued at 10 billion CFA francs and it was oversubscribed within 48 hours.
Tanzania's NMB Bank Jasiri Bond has blazed a similar trail.
The lesson is unambiguous: when instr uments are well -structured, capital follows.
The Ghana Stock Exchange must create enabling frameworks for gender -focused listed vehicles, women -focused SME funds, gender -lens ETFs, and pref erential listing pathways for women-led enterprises.
• And the relationship must go beyond credit.
Access to capital is necessary, but it is not sufficient.
Financial institutions must offer business development support, digital onboarding, market linkage programmes, mentorship networks and preferential pricin g that rewards repayment performance.
The institutions that understand this will not merely acquire customers.
They will build lasting commercial relationships with the most dynamic entrepreneurial segment on this continent.
AfCFTA: Africa is the Market Now, let us zoom out because finance without markets is a vehicle without a road.
The African Continental Free Trade Area - encompassing 54 nations, with a combined GDP exceeding US$3 trillion is one of the most transformative trade policy instruments available to African women entrepreneurs today.
The 2024 AfCFTA Protocol on Women and Youth in Trade provides the legal framework: Already, we are seeing proof of concept.
Let me cite just one example--Mazia Honey - a women-led Ghanaian enterprise operating through the AfCFTA Guided Trade Initiative, which already spans 8 countries has leveraged the agreement to expand across borders.
That is what deliberate positioning looks like.
But AfCFTA's benefits will not flow automatically to women.
They must be claimed through formalisation, rules of origin certification, compliant packaging, and quality systems for agribusiness.
The women who will dominate Africa's next decade are those who begin thinking continentally today.
To the Women in This Room I have spoken to systems and institutions.
Now let me speak directly to you.
The structural barriers are real.
The financing gap is documented.
But transformation does not wait for perfect conditions, it is built by women who act in imperfect conditions with extraordinary discipline.
Build your financial identity.
Open formal accounts.
Use digital payment platforms.
Maintain clean, auditable books.
Issue invoices.
File your taxes.
Every transaction you record creates a data point that speaks to your creditworthiness to a lender who has never met you.
Become legible to capital.
Formalise to scale.
Informal businesses have natural ceilings.
Registration, corporate governance, and compliance structures are not bureaucratic burdens — they are the architecture of growth, and the language that institutional capital speaks.
Think regionally from day one.
Ghana's market of 33 million is a launch pad, not a destination.
With AfCFTA, Africa is a market of 1.4 billion consumers.
I think of fashion house Christie Brown whose founder I have known for over a decade.
From the very beginning, she positioned herself not as a local fashion designer, but as an international fashion house.
That vision is what AfCFTA now makes possible for thousands more.
Organise collectively.
A cooperative of fifty women entrepreneurs holds far greater negotiating power with a financial institution than fifty individual applications.
The structures women have always relied upon cooperatives, savings groups, trader associations, must now be formalised, pooled, and presented as unified bankable portfolios to lenders and trade negotiators alike.
And know your numbers then tell them your story.
Track your revenue growth, employment created, taxes paid, and women supported across your supply chain.
Data transforms your enterprise from a request for consideration into a proposition for returns.
The Bank of Ghana's Commitment The Bank of Ghana is not a bystander in this work.
We now require all banks to have dedicated women desks and teams, and I am happy to say we have very good compliance levels.
Through the Women Banking desks we are developing an evidence -based policy framework in collaboration with international partners to close gender gaps in credit access, expand targeted digital financial services, and ensure that financial inclusion translates into full economic participation.
We continue to invest in interoperable payment systems, cross-border trade connectivity, cybersecurity, consumer protection, and harmonised regulations: the infrastructure that enables women-led enterprises to compete and win at home, regionally, and continentally under AfCFTA.
A Final Word The numbers are clear.
The business case is unassailable.
To the financial institutions: stop treating women entrepreneurs as a charitable constituency and start treating them as your most commercially compelling segment.
The data is unambiguous they repay better, invest more wisely, and build more resilient enterprises.
Price accordingly.
Structure accordingly.
Invest accordingly.
To the capital markets: issue gender bonds, list women -focused funds, and deploy institutional capital toward the continent's most dynamic and underserved entrepreneurial class.
To the women in this room: you are not waiting for permission.
You never needed it.
But now the policy environment, the trade infrastructure, the digital platforms, and the capital instruments are aligning in your favour as never before.
This is the decade to scale.
Do not let it pass.
“Financing a female entrepreneur is financing a multiplier.
Africa cannot afford to wait another ten years for this evidence to become the norm.”
3i AFRICA SUMMIT 2026 CLOSING KEYNOTES: THE NEXT FRONTIER BEGINS HERE BY DR.
ZAKARI MUMUNI FIRST DEPUTY GOVERNOR BANK OF GHANA DESTINY ARENA, ACCRA DATE: 06 MAY 2026 Your Excellencies, Honourable Ministers, Governors, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen.
The next frontier in Africa’s financial future is not ahead of us—it is being decided in this room now, by the choices we make.
Good afternoon, 1.
It is a privilege to deliver this closing keynote under a theme that captures both urgency and accountability: “The Next Frontier Begins Here.”
I thank you sincerely for your engagement throughout what has been a rigorous, forward‑looking opening day of the 3i Africa Summit 2026.
In just a few hours, our conversations have travelled far.
We began grounded in culture and partnership —reminded that Africa’s creativity, scale, and collaborative spirit are not peripheral qualities, but foundational assets for a thriving digital future.
We saw clear evidence of how this Summit has grown into a platform for measurable impact across the continent.
Over the course of today, we have moved from vision to clarity.
We have examined what it will take to build a digital financial system that is not only innovative, but also inclusive, secure, and truly pan-African.
For me, three conclusions stand out.
o First, that Africa already has the building blocks.
Across the continent, we have proven models —mobile money, instant payments, agent networks, and government -led digital transfers.
The task before us is not invention, but scale: connecting national systems, harmonising standards, and enabling seamless movement of value across borders.
o Second, fragmentation remains our biggest constraint.
Disconnected payment systems, uneven regulatory frameworks, and limited interoperability continue to hold us back.
Without deliberate coordination, these gaps will persist—and the promise of a single digital market will remain out of reach.
o Third, leadership will determine the outcome.
Markets alone will not deliver this transformation.
Governments, central banks, and other relevant Relevant Regulatory Authourit ies must take an active role in shaping both the architecture and the direction of the ecosystem—ensuring that innovation advances stability, trust, and inclusion.
Against this backdrop, the path forward is clear.
We must scale what works , by committing to concrete timelines , and cross-border partnerships - that move beyond pilots to full implementation.
We must build systems, not silos , by strengthening digital public infrastructure, investing in supervisory capacity, and developing the talent required to sustain a continent-wide financial ecosystem.
And critically, we must sustain momentum beyond this Summit .
The success of 3i Africa will not be measured by the quality of our discussions today, but by the actions we take tomorrow.
Do our collaborations endure?
Do our reforms materialise?
Do our institutions translate insight into execution?
Surely, t his transition will not be without risk.
We must remain vigilant to emerging threats —from cybersecurity vulnerabilities and data misuse to irresponsible lending and market concentration.
At every step, we must ask a fundamental question: who benefits, and are we expanding inclusion in practice, not just in promise?
Ladies and Gentlemen, 9.
The next frontier is not a concept.
It is -- a commitment.
It lies in the decisions we make as policymakers, the investments we make as institutions, and the partnerships we choose to build across borders.
Let us, therefore, leave this Summit with clarity and resolve: to connect our systems, to align our policies, and to execute — deliberately and at scale.
If we do so, the impact of this gathering will be visible not in months, but in the transformation of Africa’s financial landscape over the years ahead.
The frontier begins here —but its success depends on what we do next.
3i Africa Summit 2026 Inclusive Instant Payments as Economic Infrastructure Keynote Address by Dr.
Zakari Mumuni First Deputy Governor, Bank of Ghana Accra | 6 May 2026 Distinguished Governors of Central Banks Esteemed regulators, Leaders of our financial institutions, Development partners, Ladies and gentlemen.
Good afternoon to you all.
I am truly honoured to open this track conversation with my keynote address on Inclusive Instant Payments as Economic Infrastructure.
Permit me to use this opportunity to thank Mojaloop for sponsoring this track at this year’s edition of the 3i Africa Summit and curating the conversations for the good of Africa.
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, Africa stands at a decisive moment.
We have achieved remarkable progress in expanding access to financial services, yet the foundations of our payment systems remain fragmented, costly, and insufficiently interconnected.
Until we resolve this, the promise of a fully integrated digital economy will remain unreali sed.
Inclusive instant payments are therefore not optional—they are essential infrastructure.
Over the past two decades, mobile money, agency banking, fintech innovation, and digital wallets have transformed access across our continent.
However, access without seamless usability has limits.
High transaction costs, siloed platforms, and constrained interoperability continue to impede the efficient flow of value across systems, sectors, and borders.
Inclusive Instant Payment Systems (IPS) provide a clear path forward.
Properly designed and implemented, they enable real -time, low -cost transactions across interoperable networks, linking financial institutions, fintech platforms, and end users into a cohesive ecosystem.
In doing so, they convert fragmented access into meaningful economic participation.
The economic case is compelling.
Instant payments accelerate business cash cycles, strengthen liquidity management, and enhance productivity.