Ghana must capitalize on Fintech for long-term economic development

Ghana has been urged to adopt measures to harness the potential of the Financial Technology (Fintech) sector for sustainable economic development.

This is because the sector can drive foreign capital into the country to support economic recovery and transformation, making it resilient to long-term inclusive development.

Mr Darryl Abraham Mawutor, the growth director in charge of Africa, Taptap Send, a money transfer company, who said this urged the government to create an enabling environment for the fintech sector to thrive in Ghana.

He said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency after a conference to educate some school children in Accra on fintech, attended by 150 students from seven Senior High Schools (SHSs).

Mr Mawutor noted that fintech had the potential to bring in about $10 billion by 2025 and serve as an important catalyst for economic recovery and long-term national development.

He said: “Fintech has helped Ghana a lot and has the potential to help us get out of the immediate economic situation we are in as a country and build a long-term sustainable economy that we want for our children in the generation to come. ”

“There is a limit to commodities like gold, diamond, manganese and gold, which we have been proud of for a long time, but new ideas and products and services in the fintech space are limitless, so let’s take advantage of such opportunities,” he said.

He said their fintech-oriented company helped move capital to Ghana through remittances, which could grow to about $5 billion this year, and urged government and regulators to drive diaspora investment into fintech.

Mr Mawutor said Tatptap Send supported the training of young people across the country through programs such as the Child-in-tech conference to create access and pump capital into Ghana.

Miss Akosua Oppong-Mensah, a fintech consultant, added that there was a need for the government to create guidelines that would allow startups to grow and partner with financial and educational institutions.

She said: “Fintech plays a critical role in today’s economic development and creates generational wealth. We must therefore take advantage of the opportunities to create generational wealth and go from hand to mouth to a stable and sustainable economy.”

Miss Abena Nyamesem, Head of Sustainability and Partnerships at the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC), also emphasized the relevance of fintech in economic development.

She said GIFEC had therefore supported individuals and communities with digital skills to ensure that artisans, market women and youth were not left behind in the digital transformation agenda.

She said GIFEC had also helped small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in rural Ghana by promoting fintech and helping telecommunications companies expand their services in these areas to bring about economic transformation.

However, Nyamesem said: “Government cannot do it alone; we need additional support from individuals and the corporate world to make these skills more practical and expand the talent of our school children in fintech.”

Source: GNA