Mastercard hosted its first-ever Africa Edge summit, bringing together key players from Africa’s payments sector to strategize on accelerating the continent’s digital growth through collaboration and innovation.
The forum focused on establishing the essential infrastructure, trust, and interoperability required to support Africa’s rapidly expanding digital economy, which is projected to reach USD $1.5 trillion by 2030. This push aims to unlock new opportunities for consumers and small businesses.
The event, hosted by Mark Elliott, Division President, Africa, Mastercard, convened senior representatives from banks, fintechs, telcos, regulators, and technology partners. Discussions centered on practical steps to:
- Expand low-cost acceptance of digital payments.
- Improve interoperability across different systems.
- Enhance security at scale.
With African internet penetration expected to grow by 20% annually, participants agreed that seamless, secure, and connected payment systems are vital for sustaining growth and fostering trade and entrepreneurship.
Mastercard unveiled two significant innovations poised to shape the future of digital commerce in the region:
- Agent Pay: The first-ever live Agent Pay transaction in EEMEA was executed, signaling a major advance toward autonomous, secure, and accessible payment experiences.
- Merchant Cloud: A new unified platform was launched, integrating payments, AI, and security to help merchants confidently grow their businesses across all channels.
These innovations underline Mastercard’s commitment to building intelligent, inclusive, and resilient payment ecosystems for Africa’s digital transformation.
A significant theme was the critical need for payment immediacy and liquidity. Panelists highlighted how same-day settlement helps small businesses manage cash flow better, reduce borrowing, and reinvest faster. South Africa’s real-time clearing system was cited as a model for Mastercard’s instant-payment initiatives across the continent.
- Ling Hai, President of APEMEA, Mastercard, stressed that the continent’s digital future requires simple, safe, and accessible payment solutions that work across borders and devices, calling for greater public-private sector collaboration.
- Keynote speaker, futurist John Sanei, explored how human adaptability and emotional intelligence will define successful leadership in an AI-driven world.
- A spotlight session with Smile ID addressed the rising threat of synthetic identities and deepfakes, showcasing how Mastercard and Smile ID are combining AI-driven liveness checks and verification to strengthen digital onboarding and reduce fraud.
Mark Elliott emphasized that the summit reflects Mastercard’s long-term commitment to the continent, focusing on collaboration to deliver secure, seamless, and accessible digital experiences that empower people and businesses.
Shehryar Ali, Senior Vice President and Country Manager, East Africa & Indian Ocean Islands, Mastercard, noted East Africa’s pioneering role in mobile payments. He highlighted efforts to connect regional ecosystems like Airtel Money, MTN MoMo, Mixx by Yas, and M-PESA to global payment rails, expanding secure and interoperable solutions. He pointed out that with 91% of Kenyan SMEs already using digital payments, the region continues to lead the way toward Africa’s $1.5 trillion digital economy goal.
The summit concluded with a celebratory awards ceremony, recognizing partners and customers for their outstanding contributions to advancing innovation and inclusion in Africa’s digital economy.