Africa’s fintech industry is coming of age. In the face of political and economic challenges and a global pandemic, fintech on the continent is booming, but not all work is cut out.

This was observed on Tuesday, June 20, during the opening of the Inclusive FinTech forum, which is taking place in Kigali.

The forum, organized by the Kigali International Financial Centre (KIFC) and Singapore’s Elevandi, is convening over 2500 delegates including Heads of States as part of the efforts to discuss the opportunities and requirements for driving the digital economy.

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According to Dr. Jochen Biedermann, Managing Director of the World Alliance of International Financial Centres, the Global South can cooperate to unlock the opportunities presented by FinTech.

"Critical success factors for a FinTech ecosystem are : developing talent, retaining talent, access to capital, sound regulation with the right level of regulations, infrastructure and sustained commitment of the government to make it possible.”

Rwanda’s Central Bank Governor John Rwangombwa shared similar sentiments, citing the lack of regulatory alignment as a key challenge in scaling up, not just for the FinTech sector, but SMEs at large.

"A key challenge in building scale in Africa is lack of harmonisation of regulations in Africa,” but also noting that the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement(AfCFTA), and initiatives like the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System, will be key in addressing this challenge.

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"We are looking at AfCFTA as a gateway to unlocking some of the challenges we are facing in the fintech space. Within the EAC, we are working as regulators to harmonize our regulations. We want to be sure that we have a harmonized regulatory regime for all financial sector players,” Rwangombwa added.

There is however optimism, according to Olugbenga Agboola, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Flutterwave.

Reacting on the potential for Africa, Agboola said, ""Policymakers’ understanding of FinTech has improved since 2015. Regulators are getting more friendly to startups. As startups, we need to see policymakers as a stakeholder and allies. We can export Africa to the world.”

Equally important, Tidjane Thiam, the Rwanda Finance Limited (RFL) chairman said, is the need for policymakers and investors to connect and share the likely direction of policy and capital.

"The number one driver of value and growth is innovation. That’s good news because that is where we are the most equal as Africans. We have brains. Brainpower is equally allocated on the planet. What lacks is the opportunity and the means to capture the opportunity. Innovation, capital, policy, regulation – these are the ingredients.”

Incentives for fintechs in Rwanda

Clare Akamanzi, Chief Executive at Rwanda Development Board (RDB), shared Rwanda’s experience.

"As the Rwanda Development Board, we are at the forefront of enabling private sector growth in Rwanda and the opportunity that Fintech presents both as a sector as well as an enabler for the rest of the economy makes it a high priority sector,”

She added, "I want to assure you that Rwanda is open to fintechs. We have not only invested in the infrastructure for fintech such as 95 percent nationwide broadband coverage and an effective national ID, with a digital ID system underway.”

In fact, Akamanzi said, the 2021 Investment Code includes attractive financial incentives for Fintechs, "under our ambitions to become a financial center, such as a reduced corporate income tax of 15 percent.”

Financial technology is constantly evolving and changing the landscape the world operates in, and according to the Harvard graduate, topics including the role of unicorns, financial centers and regulation are all pertinent.

"As a country, we don’t like to rest on our laurels and we are committed to building the ecosystem for fintech so that we can also nurture our own unicorns or zebracorns,” she added.

In particular, Rwanda is investing in its innovation capacity, she pointed out.

"Africa needs talent pools relevant for the fintech revolution,” said Akamanzi, adding, "In Rwanda, we have a flexible visa regime and are also investing in pan-African talent through partnerships with world-class educational institutions such as Carnegie Mellon, AIMS and ALU to build a deep talent pool. These investments are making Rwanda an attractive destination for companies looking to set up in Rwanda as well as those looking to offshore and outsource certain functions.”