The Africa Prosperity Network (APN) has welcomed the strong focus on digital transformation and artificial intelligence at the Africa Forward Summit, while calling for urgent action towards continent-wide mobile money interoperability and the implementation of the AfCFTA Digital Trade Protocol.
In a statement signed by its Founder and Executive Chairman, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, APN commended African leaders and stakeholders for prioritising Africa’s digital future, inclusive innovation and alignment with African Union frameworks during the summit.
However, the organisation stressed that implementation remains the continent’s biggest challenge despite years of discussions around Africa’s digital economy and integration agenda.
According to APN, African governments must move beyond policy conversations and urgently develop practical implementation roadmaps for the AfCFTA Digital Trade Protocol, including pilot projects for cross-border e-commerce, digital identity recognition and harmonised data governance systems.
The organisation also identified mobile money interoperability as a major priority, arguing that fragmented payment systems continue to hinder cross-border trade, remittances, SME growth and investment across the continent.
“Indeed, one of the fastest ways of making Africa borderless is making Africa digitally borderless,” the statement said.
APN noted that mobile money has become Africa’s most successful digital finance innovation, citing global transaction figures that exceeded US$2 trillion in 2025, with Africa accounting for approximately 66 per cent of the total value.
According to the network, the continent processed an estimated US$1.43 trillion in mobile money transactions in 2025 alone, while about 1.2 billion mobile money accounts are currently registered across Africa, representing more than half of all global accounts.
The organisation said these figures demonstrate that Africa already possesses one of the world’s most advanced digital financial ecosystems, but Africans still face unnecessary barriers when attempting to send and receive payments seamlessly across borders.
APN therefore called on African leaders, central banks, regulators, fintech companies and payment platforms to work together towards achieving continent-wide mobile money interoperability.
It argued that enabling Africa’s estimated 1.5 billion people to buy, sell and trade freely across borders using mobile money wallets would significantly boost intra-African trade, investment, logistics, transportation and broader market integration.
The organisation further stated that improving digital integration would enhance services such as e-health and e-commerce while creating jobs and wealth opportunities for Africa’s growing youth population.
APN pledged its readiness to support dialogue, implementation tracking and private sector engagement to ensure the successful implementation of the AfCFTA Digital Trade Protocol.
The network also called on businesses and citizens across the continent to support its “Make Africa Borderless” campaign, noting that more than 120,000 Africans have already signed a petition advocating faster economic integration across Africa.
Further information about the campaign is available on Make Africa Borderless Now.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
