Singapore’s Ambassador for Climate Action, Rave Menon, has highlighted the absence of legal or digital identities for many Africans in Sub-Saharan Africa.
He noted that over 40% of Africans lack legal identification, indicating that Africa continues to grapple with challenges in the fintech sector.
These comments were made during the opening ceremony of the 3i Africa Summit at the Accra International Conference Center on Monday, May 13.
“Africa is on the cusp of a fintech revolution that will transform the lives of hundreds of millions of people. Africa pioneered the use of mobile money…The key enablers for leveraging digital technologies are in place… But it’s not a given that Africa’s fintech revolution is pre-destined, Africa still has considerable challenges that it has to overcome on this fintech journey, and we need to be realistic so that we can address them.
“More than 40% of people in Sub-Saharan Africa do not possess legal proof of identity or a digital ID. Women and ethnic minorities bear the brunt of this exclusion,” he pointed out.
He expressed concern over the number of unbanked individuals in Sub-Saharan Africa, despite African governments’ efforts to prioritize financial inclusion and digitalization.
He mentioned the Ghana Government’s initiative to issue ID cards to all newborns and emphasized that Nigeria has also launched a digital ecosystem.
Mr. Menon revealed that only 35% of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa has access to banking services.
“Cross border payments transactions within Africa are still quite expensive, as they route to overseas banks involved in currency swapping. Much of the population remains unbanked or under-banked. Only 35% of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa has access to banking services.
“But Africa is not sitting still, efforts are underway to tackle these problems. Digital identities as a key enabler for online transactions, payment connectivity for seamless cross-border payments to organizations and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enhance financial inclusion. Digital IDs are a crucial public good.
“Governments in Africa are prioritizing financial inclusion and digitalization. Several governments in Africa are implementing digital IDs. Ghana has begun issuing ID cards to all newborn children. Nigeria has a national launched a digital eco-system to integrate the national identification numbers with digital services,” the Former MD, the Monetary Authority of Singapore said.
—–
Explore the world of impactful news with CitiNewsroom on WhatsApp!
Click on the link to join the Citi Newsroom channel for curated, meaningful stories tailored just for YOU: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaCYzPRAYlUPudDDe53x
No spams, just the stories that truly matter! #StayInformed #CitiNewsroom #CNRDigital