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8 African Business August/September 2023 Business Intelligence News A partnership between the Kenyan and Nigerian central banks is expected to foster joint regulatory projects, coordinated licensing and legal frameworks, talent development and more. Harry Clynch reports. The Central Bank of Nigeria and the Central Bank of Egypt have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) under which two of the largest economies in Africa agreed to set up a “Nigeria-Egypt Fintech Bridge”. While the full scope of the collaboration is yet to be detailed, the partnership between the two central banks is expected to encompass joint regulator y projects, coordinated licensing and legal frameworks, information and data exchange, fintech cross-referrals, and talent development. According to Aishah Ahmed, deputy governor for financial system stabilit y at the Nigerian Central Bank, the move is particu- larly geared towards improving financial inclusion. It is hoped that Nigerian-Egyptian collaboration on fintech solutions will allow more citizens from both countries to access formal financial ser vices. At present Abuja and Cairo have some of the largest unbanked populations anywhere in the world. For the unbanked masses Approximately 40% of the Nigerian population does not have a bank account, with that figure rising up to 75% of Egyptians. Both economies continue to rely heavily on cash, with over two thirds of Egyptians using only cash to conduct purchases or make transfers, according to the World Bank. Rume Ophi, a fintech and blockchain analyst based in Lagos, tells African Business t hat “col l aboration between the various government agencies will help drive financial inclusion in Nigeria and Egypt.” In a statement Ahmed said: Egypt and Nigeria unite on fintech “We look forward to cultivating an innovative space for fintech startups and entrepreneurs in Egypt and Nigeria to accelerate financial inclusion, deepen our payment systems, and drive economic growth across the African continent.” The move is a significant one as it comes at a time when more fintech leaders are calling for greater interAfrican cooperation to drive the industr y forward. At the Inclusive Fintech Forum in Kigali in June, Dare Okoudjou, CEO of pan-African payments company MFS Africa, told African Business that African countries need to integrate their fintech markets in order to unleash fintech’s full economic potential. He called for passporting solutions to minimise legal and regulatory barriers. Opening a bigger market “We need to give entrepreneurs across the continent access to a bigger market. We keep talking about this potential market of 1.2bn people. But it is not a reality until we actually make it,” he said. While this ambition remains a long way off, the Nigeria-Egypt Fintech Bridge would appear to be a step in the right direction. Ophi says that Nigeria in particular appears to be prepared to advance its fintech market, both through foreign collaboration and other measures. He notes that “in Nigeria, the government gave banking licences to telecoms companies to encourage mobile banking in a country where 36% of people are still completely excluded [from the formal financial sector]” but also emphasises that the MOU is not sufficient in itself: “more steps to advance the fintech market would be welcomed.” Ophi is confident that the Nigeria-Egypt Fintech Bridge could unlock significant amounts of cross-border collaboration and help entrepreneurs in both countries devise more sophisticated fintech ser vices and products – and therefore promote wider economic growth. “The MOU will allow Nigeria and Egypt to attract innovations and foreign direct investment, which in turn will help grow the economies of both countries,” he says.
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8 African Business August/September 2023

Business Intelligence News

A partnership between the Kenyan and Nigerian central banks is expected to foster joint regulatory projects, coordinated licensing and legal frameworks, talent development and more. Harry Clynch reports.

The Central Bank of Nigeria and the Central Bank of Egypt have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) under which two of the largest economies in Africa agreed to set up a “Nigeria-Egypt Fintech Bridge”. While the full scope of the collaboration is yet to be detailed, the partnership between the two central banks is expected to encompass joint regulator y projects, coordinated licensing and legal frameworks, information and data exchange, fintech cross-referrals, and talent development.

According to Aishah Ahmed, deputy governor for financial system stabilit y at the Nigerian Central Bank, the move is particu-

larly geared towards improving financial inclusion. It is hoped that Nigerian-Egyptian collaboration on fintech solutions will allow more citizens from both countries to access formal financial ser vices. At present Abuja and Cairo have some of the largest unbanked populations anywhere in the world.

For the unbanked masses Approximately 40% of the Nigerian population does not have a bank account, with that figure rising up to 75% of Egyptians. Both economies continue to rely heavily on cash, with over two thirds of Egyptians using only cash to conduct purchases or make transfers, according to the World Bank. Rume Ophi, a fintech and blockchain analyst based in Lagos, tells African Business t hat “col l aboration between the various government agencies will help drive financial inclusion in Nigeria and Egypt.”

In a statement Ahmed said:

Egypt and Nigeria unite on fintech

“We look forward to cultivating an innovative space for fintech startups and entrepreneurs in Egypt and Nigeria to accelerate financial inclusion, deepen our payment systems, and drive economic growth across the African continent.”

The move is a significant one as it comes at a time when more fintech leaders are calling for greater interAfrican cooperation to drive the industr y forward.

At the Inclusive Fintech Forum in Kigali in June, Dare Okoudjou, CEO of pan-African payments company MFS Africa, told African Business that African countries need to integrate their fintech markets in order to unleash fintech’s full economic potential. He called for passporting solutions to minimise legal and regulatory barriers.

Opening a bigger market “We need to give entrepreneurs across the continent access to a bigger market. We keep talking about this potential market of 1.2bn people. But it is not a reality until we actually make it,” he said. While this ambition remains a long way off, the

Nigeria-Egypt Fintech Bridge would appear to be a step in the right direction.

Ophi says that Nigeria in particular appears to be prepared to advance its fintech market, both through foreign collaboration and other measures.

He notes that “in Nigeria, the government gave banking licences to telecoms companies to encourage mobile banking in a country where 36% of people are still completely excluded [from the formal financial sector]” but also emphasises that the MOU is not sufficient in itself: “more steps to advance the fintech market would be welcomed.”

Ophi is confident that the Nigeria-Egypt Fintech Bridge could unlock significant amounts of cross-border collaboration and help entrepreneurs in both countries devise more sophisticated fintech ser vices and products – and therefore promote wider economic growth. “The MOU will allow Nigeria and Egypt to attract innovations and foreign direct investment, which in turn will help grow the economies of both countries,” he says.

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