The Africa Prosperity Network (APN) has welcomed the strong focus on digital transformation and artificial intelligence at the Africa Forward Summit, while urging African leaders to move beyond declarations and accelerate implementation across the continent.

In a statement following the summit, APN commended the emphasis placed on Africa’s digital future, inclusive innovation, and alignment with African Union frameworks and priorities. However, the organisation stressed that the real challenge remains implementation.

According to APN, African leaders have long recognised the importance of the digital economy to the continent’s prosperity, but urgent and coordinated action is now needed to translate commitments into tangible results.

The organisation identified two key priorities requiring immediate attention.

Top among them is the accelerated implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Digital Trade Protocol adopted in 2024. APN noted that despite widespread recognition of the importance of digital trade, many African countries are yet to operationalise the protocol.

The Network is therefore calling on governments and stakeholders to develop practical implementation roadmaps, including pilot projects focused on cross-border e-commerce, digital identity recognition, and harmonised data governance systems.

APN also described continent-wide mobile money interoperability as an urgent necessity for Africa’s economic integration.

According to the organisation, mobile money remains Africa’s most successful digital finance innovation, but fragmented payment systems continue to hinder cross-border trade, remittances, SME growth, and investment.

Citing industry figures, APN said global mobile money transactions exceeded US$2 trillion in 2025, with Africa accounting for about 66 percent of the global transaction value. The continent alone processed an estimated US$1.43 trillion in mobile money transactions last year.

The organisation further noted that approximately 1.2 billion mobile money accounts are currently registered across Africa, representing more than half of all global accounts.

Despite this progress, APN lamented that Africans still face major difficulties in sending and receiving payments seamlessly across borders.

The organisation is therefore urging African leaders, central banks, regulators, fintech firms, and payment platforms to work urgently toward a continent-wide interoperable mobile money system.

According to APN, enabling Africans to freely trade across borders using mobile money wallets will significantly boost intra-African trade, logistics, transport, investment, and overall market integration.

“One of the fastest ways of making Africa borderless is making Africa digitally borderless,” the statement said.

APN added that improved digital integration would also strengthen sectors such as e-health and e-commerce while creating jobs and economic opportunities for Africa’s growing youth population.

The organisation says it remains ready to support dialogue, implementation tracking, and private sector engagement to ensure the AfCFTA Digital Trade Protocol delivers real benefits to businesses, women, youth, and underserved communities across the continent.

APN also called on Africans and businesses to support its campaign for faster economic integration, revealing that more than 120,000 Africans have already signed a petition backing the initiative.