The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has called for stronger digital integration across Africa, warning that the continent risks expanding digital access without achieving meaningful economic transformation.
Speaking on Day Two of the 3i Africa Summit 2026 in Accra, Nathalie Kouassi-Akon said Africa’s next phase of digital growth must focus on integration, productivity, and scale rather than access alone.
“Access has expanded, but without addressing fragmentation, affordability and productivity gaps, we risk digital access without economic transformation,” she stated.
According to her, more than 191 million additional Africans made or received digital payments between 2014 and 2021, reflecting major progress in financial inclusion. However, she noted that significant gaps remain in digital usage and connectivity.
“Only about 22 percent of people actually use mobile internet despite much wider coverage, and over 60 percent live within broadband reach but remain unconnected,” she said.
Kouassi-Akon explained that many African digital ecosystems remain fragmented, limiting growth opportunities for businesses and cross-border trade.
“Payment platforms work, but not always with each other. Data exists, but cannot move easily or safely,” she observed.
She warned that unless Africa addresses these disconnects, the continent risks “scaling silos instead of scaling growth.”
The IFC official identified interoperable payments, digital identity systems, trusted data exchange frameworks, and connectivity infrastructure as critical pillars needed to support the continent’s digital economy.
“These are the invisible rails that make cross-border trade and regional value chains work in practice, not just on paper,” she said.
She further stressed that digital public infrastructure must be supported by investments in electricity, skills development, and strong institutions.
“There is no way around it,” she added.
Kouassi-Akon also highlighted the importance of trust in digital systems, noting that citizens and investors will only embrace platforms backed by strong governance, cybersecurity, accountability, and data protection frameworks.
On financing, she argued that governments alone cannot sustain the level of investment required to scale digital infrastructure across Africa.
“Digital public infrastructure is capital-intensive, dynamic, and innovation-driven. The private sector must be engaged not as a vendor, but as a co-architect and co-investor,” she said.
She disclosed that IFC has invested more than 9.6 billion dollars in digital infrastructure over the past decade, including a 100 million dollar financing package for African data centre platform Raxio Group to expand facilities across several African countries.
According to her, the broader goal is to crowd in private investment while supporting development objectives.
“It is not about privatising public goods, but about crowding in private capability to deliver public value,” she noted.
Kouassi-Akon praised Ghana’s role in advancing digital innovation, citing the country’s mobile money growth and emerging technology ecosystem.
She said the real transformation would come when African digital systems connect seamlessly across borders, enabling young entrepreneurs and small businesses to access credit, trade regionally, and create jobs locally.
“The question is not whether Africa’s digital economy will grow. It will. The real question is who builds it, who owns it, and who benefits from it,” she concluded.
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