Ghana’s former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has urged African nations to prioritize scalable systems and ecosystems to unlock the continent’s innovation potential, citing Ghana’s digital finance advancements as a model.
Speaking at the Cambridge Africa Business Conference on May 17, 2025, themed ‘Africa’s Digital Transformation: Building Resilient Economies Through Innovation,’ Bawumia emphasized that Africa’s challenge lies not in creativity but in structural gaps.
“We lack systems that scale innovation, ecosystems that reward ideas, and access to capital and infrastructure,” he stated, stressing that unreliable infrastructure and limited trust hinder sustainable growth.
Bawumia envisioned a future where African innovations integrate into global markets—from Nairobi tech startups serving São Paulo clients to Tamale shea butter cooperatives using blockchain for global traceability.
Highlighting Ghana’s progress, he hailed its mobile money interoperability (MMI) system, which enables seamless transfers between mobile wallets and bank accounts across providers.
“Ghana is Africa’s first and among few globally to achieve this,” he said, crediting MMI for transforming mobile wallets into functional bank accounts and expanding financial inclusion. The policy, launched in 2018, allows users to transfer funds irrespective of telecom providers, bridging formal and informal banking sectors.
Bawumia’s address framed Ghana’s digital leap as a blueprint for Africa, urging systemic reforms to nurture innovation. “Scaling solutions requires trust, capital, and infrastructure—these must be our focus,” he concluded, linking localized successes to continent-wide economic resilience.
