By Francis Kobena Tandoh
Vice President Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang on Wednesday urged other African countries to work towards pushing a continental digital trade to boost economic sovereignty.
Speaking at the 3i Africa Summit 2026 under the “Enforcing Africa’s Next Frontier in Digital Finance,” the Vice President stressed that economic sovereignty depends on digital integration, as that is where value is created, exchanged, and controlled.
She emphasized that Africa has already demonstrated the capacity to leapfrog legacy systems, as mobile money, digital identity, and financial technology have shown what is possible.
“Ghana will work with everyone, Rwanda, Zambia, and other countries, to pilot a continental digital trade corridor. “This pilot that we started, tested, and evaluated will focus on making mobile money work together, recognizing digital identities for cross-border KYC, and standardizing electronic pre-voicing,” said Prof. Opoku-Agyemang.
The Ghanaian Vice President stated the task of moving from pockets of progress to a continental scale and the integration of digital economies requires four things, including payment, identity, regulation, and infrastructure.
Africa, she emphasized, is well positioned to play a defining role, particularly in cross-border trade and in applying technology to agriculture, health, education, and public services.
She urged governments to be ready to contribute to efforts to ensure that integration is not only discussed in a crowd but also demonstrated everywhere.
Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr. Johnson Pandit Asiama, observed that the 3i Africa Summit has made a significant mark on the global financial landscape since the maiden edition in 2024.
He emphasized that the progress made in digital finance points to an important shift, as the next phase will not be defined by payments alone.
“Across our markets, the basic payment infrastructure is increasingly in place. The opportunity now lies in building the next layer of value. Financial products should be designed to address the specific needs of women, MSMEs, young people, and the informal sector. Our challenge is to create the conditions for this next generation of financial services to grow responsibly and at scale,” said Dr. Asiama.
He stressed that the Central Bank has taken a deliberate approach to build a regulatory and market environment that supports innovation while maintaining stability and trust, which is reflected in the steps to strengthen the framework for digital finance.
Dr. Asiama urged stronger alignment across markets, better coordination across regulators, and faster progress toward financial systems that are inclusive, innovative, and capable of operating at scale. Enditem
Source: Ghana Eye Report
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