Africa possesses vast potential for innovation, but its ability to leverage this creativity into sustained economic growth is hampered by a lack of scalable systems and supportive ecosystems.
This was the key message from Ghana’s former Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, speaking at the Cambridge Africa Business Conference on Saturday, May 17, 2025.
Addressing the conference themed ‘Africa’s Digital Transformation: Building Resilient Economies Through Innovation,’ Dr. Bawumia was emphatic, stating, “Africa does not lack innovation. We lack systems that scale it. We do not lack ideas. We lack ecosystems that reward and retain them. We do not lack ambition. We lack access to capital, infrastructure, and trust.”
He elaborated that despite a wealth of creative minds and entrepreneurial spirit, the absence of crucial supporting structures like reliable infrastructure, sufficient access to capital, and a strong culture of trust impedes the growth and sustainability of African ventures.
Dr. Bawumia cast a vision of a future where African innovations are not isolated exceptions but integrated components of the global economy. He presented scenarios such as a tech start-up in Nairobi effortlessly serving clients in São Paulo, or a shea butter cooperative in Tamale selling directly to buyers in Tokyo, potentially utilizing tools like blockchain for traceability.
He stressed that African innovations must become the expected norm. To achieve this, he urged African nations to prioritize the development of robust systems and nurturing ecosystems capable of scaling innovations and unlocking the continent’s full economic potential.
Turning his focus to Ghana, Dr. Bawumia hailed the country’s significant strides in digital financial services, identifying it as the fastest-growing mobile money market across the African continent. He credited the implementation of mobile money interoperability (MMI) as a transformative “game-changer” in Ghana’s financial landscape.
Recounting the policy’s origin, he explained, “We asked the questions: why can’t we make it possible to send mobile money across different telephone companies and also why can’t the mobile money account function like a bank account by making it interoperable with bank accounts? The answer to these questions was the implementation of groundbreaking mobile money interoperability (MMI) across all banks and telcos.“
He noted that the introduction of MMI now allows Ghanaians to move funds seamlessly between mobile money accounts, regardless of the service provider, and crucially, between mobile money wallets and traditional bank accounts. This interoperability, he argued, has effectively transformed mobile money wallets into functional bank accounts, drastically expanding access to financial services nationwide.
Dr. Bawumia proudly declared, “Ghana is the first country in Africa and one of a very few in the world to achieve this type of interoperability between bank accounts and mobile wallets.”
Dr. Bawumia’s address stated the dual challenge of creating supportive environments for innovation across Africa while highlighting Ghana’s specific success story as a model for digital transformation.