Wamkele Mene, Secretary General of AfCFTA Secretariat

The Secretary General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, Wamkele Mene, has disclosed that Africa is projected to be the 8th largest global economy with an estimated $16.3 trillion by the year 2050.

Speaking during day one of the 3i Africa Summit in Accra on the need for businesses to leverage fintech to maximise outputs, Secretary General Wamkele Mene underscored the importance of governments across the African continent to deploy all the technological resources available to propel growth and sustainability in their respective economies.

“The existential economic sovereignty of our continent is precisely why the African Continental Free Trade Area was established so that we can leverage on this market of 1.4 billion people, which by 2050 is projected to be the 8th largest economy in the world with $16.3 trillion 27 years from now but if we don’t deploy these digital technologies, all of us are going to be discussing where we got it wrong.

“The emerging global geo-political context should compel us Africans to collaborate to find ways of coming out of the challenges we are facing,” Mr. Mene added.

The summit is under the theme ‘Unleashing the Fintech and Digital Economic Potential of Africa’ and is expected to bring together key players within the finance sector across Africa and the globe.

It is organised by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) and the Development Bank Ghana (DBG), in partnership with Elevandi, and set up by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

The Summit will feature plenary speeches and chats from heads of state, senior government representatives, investors, prominent industry leaders, policymakers, and innovators.

Credit-citibusiness