Bank Of Ghana Embarks On Partnerships With Fintech Players To Strengthen Financial Inclusion
Dec. 15, 2021, 11:15 a.m.
More than 19 million active mobile money accounts are driving Ghana’s digital financial services industry. Before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, this number was 14.4 million. Similarly, mobile money interoperability continued to show strong growth of about 365% in transaction volumes and 651% in transaction values between 2019 and 2020. These numbers show that there is a growing need for financial inclusion. The availability of the internet and the flexibility and customer convenience have facilitated a vibrant online local community, which has supported electronic transactions and prompted a significant shift towards e-commerce.
Partnerships will be the spiralling force behind a concrete and robust fintech ecosystem to drive the much desired financial inclusion in the country. The Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Ernest Addison, aware of partnerships’ relevance, has called for increased partnership between BoG and stakeholders in the fintech space to help accelerate growth.
It is worth noting that before this call of action, some fintech stakeholders had already begun moving towards the course. Last month Arkel Consult and Abjel Communications launched the Ghana Fintech Outlook(GFO) 2021 Conference. The GFO project, dubbed “Promoting Collaborations and Accelerated Investments in Ghana’s Fintech Ecosystem,” brought together the financial sector experts, regulators, and internationally recognised industry leaders to discuss the role of fintechs in Ghana’s burgeoning economy. The program educated the Ghanaian masses on how to work together as an ecosystem and transform the financial status of Ghana through digitalisation which is one of the landmarks resolves of the present government.
Submit your news stories, articles or press releases to editor@digitaltimes.africa
Or
“Collectively, as stakeholders, must leverage on these positive headwinds to develop and implement digital strategies to spur growth in the digital financial services sector,” Dr Addison said
“The COVID-19 pandemic was challenging, but it also presented some opportunities. As you will recall, following the restrictive measures imposed to contain the spread of the virus, BoG, in collaboration with industry stakeholders, embarked on efforts that encouraged the use of electronic payments.”
“Globally, a new economy was emerging, built on digital technology. From agriculture, through industry, to commerce, to name just a few, no sector has been spared the transformational power of technology. In Ghana, the trends are not different. The high mobile phone penetration rate, that is, the ratio of mobile subscribers to the total population, has improved nationwide connectivity and resolved the challenges of distance and unfriendly terrain,” he elaborated.
The dinner was held in honour of the Governor. Dr Maxwell Opoku-Afari and Mrs Elsie Addo Awadzi, his two deputies and other players in the banking industry, attended the event
tag: Banking, financial inclusion, partnerships, Fintech,
Verny Joy Author
Verny loves to write poetry, fiction and quotes. Her love for writing landed her in journalism. She loves gadgets and travelling to explore new places.