The next phase of Africa’s financial transformation is not a future goal — it’s being decided now, Bank of Ghana First Deputy Governor Dr. Zakari Mumuni told delegates at the closing of the 3i Africa Summit 2026.
Speaking on topic “The Next Frontier Begins Here”, Dr. Mumuni said Africa already has the building blocks for a thriving digital financial system but must now focus on scaling them across borders.
He said ,“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.”
He identified three key conclusions from the summit’s opening day: Africa has proven models like mobile money, instant payments, and agent networks; fragmentation remains the biggest barrier; and leadership, not just markets, will determine the outcome.
Dr. Mumuni said, is not to invent new systems but to connect existing ones.
“Across the continent, we have proven models… The task before us is not invention, but scale: connecting national systems, harmonising standards, and enabling seamless movement of value across borders,” he noted.
He warned that disconnected payment systems, uneven regulations, and limited interoperability continue to constrain progress. Without deliberate coordination, he said, the promise of a single African digital market will remain out of reach.
On the issues of Leadership and responsibility,
Dr. Mumuni stressed that governments and central banks must play an active role in shaping the architecture of the ecosystem to ensure innovation advances stability, trust, and inclusion.
“We must scale what works by committing to concrete timelines and cross-border partnerships that move beyond pilots to full implementation,” he said. “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.”
The Deputy Governor cautioned that the transition will not be without risk, pointing to cybersecurity threats, data misuse, 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?” he said.
Dr. Mumuni said the true measure of the summit will not be the quality of discussions but the actions that follow.
“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?”
He closed with a call for clarity and resolve: “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.”
“The frontier begins here — but its success depends on what we do next,” he said.
