The Secretary General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Wamkele Mene has emphasised the critical role of digital inclusion in achieving the mission of the oragnisation.

According to him, digital inclusion is crucial for leveraging the vast market potential represented by Africa's 1.4 billion population, projected to become one of the world's largest economies by 2050.

He said this at the 3i Africa Summit held at the Accra International Conference Centre on May 13.

However, he was concerned that without the deployment of digital technologies, this objective may not be realised.

"But if we don't deploy these digital technologies that all of us are going to be discussing today and tomorrow, I don't [think] that we will reach that objective. I want to thank all of you very much for the opportunity to share with you what our heads of states have instructed me to do which is to implement the protocol on digital trade," he added.

Acknowledging the pivotal role of digital trade, Mr Mene highlighted the mandate given by the heads of state to implement protocols on digital trade.

He emphasised the importance of creating opportunities for millions of young Africans, placing small and medium-scale enterprises at the forefront of Africa's economy.

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"To create opportunities for millions and millions and millions of young Africans to place small medium scale enterprises in the center of Africa's economy and to catapult our continent to global competitiveness which is the preeminent objective of the Assembly of Heads of States and government that we have.”

Meanwhile, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana also called for more investment in Africa's fintech space.

According to Dr Ernest Addison, this move will accelerate the rate of development and innovation.

He explained that the industry's potential largely depends on this issue and the ability for start-ups to access capital.

"...The lack of requisite Investment in African fintechs could slow the pace of innovation and scalability of solutions in achieving the desired impact of a digitized Africa," he said.

The 3i Africa Summit is on the theme, “Unleashing Africa’s Fintech and Digital economic potential”.

The event is bringing together key players in the financial, investment, policy-regulatory and digital technology domains in Africa.

Over the three days, the participants will engage in over 15 sessions with speakers and discussants contributing to over 60 topics aimed at finding the pathways that deliver the most traction in the drive to generate momentum and achieve progress.