Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has proposed a paradigm shift in Africa’s approach to economic integration, favoring mobile money interoperability over the long-standing goal of a single continental currency.
Speaking at the Continental Mobile Interoperability Symposium in Accra, Dr. Bawumia argued that interconnected payment platforms could more effectively boost intra-African trade and financial inclusion.
“The idea of a common currency, which came in 1963, has been overtaken by the digital payment age,” Dr. Bawumia stated.
He added that mobile money interoperability could achieve the benefits of a common currency without the challenges of meeting macroeconomic convergence criteria that have hindered progress for decades.
The Vice President called for a shift in focus from macroeconomic to “digital payment convergence criteria,” suggesting that this approach could rapidly enhance cross-border trade and financial integration across the continent.
Dr. Ernest Addison, Governor of the Bank of Ghana, echoed the importance of this digital approach. He stressed the need for a harmonized regulatory framework and partnerships among digital space players to achieve broad financial sector inclusion and inter-trade in Africa.
This proposal comes as African countries continue to struggle to meet the economic benchmarks necessary for a single currency. Dr. Bawumia’s suggestion represents a potentially more achievable path to economic integration, leveraging existing digital infrastructure and the widespread adoption of mobile money services across the continent.
The symposium, organized by the Africa Prosperity Network, brought together financial experts and policymakers to discuss scaling up interoperability and using mobile money for continental trade.
As African nations grapple with economic challenges and seek ways to boost intra-continental trade, this new perspective on financial integration could shape the future of Africa’s economic policy.
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