MTN Holds MoMo Stakeholder Workshop Aimed At Growing Fintech Ecosystem

Telecom giant, MTN Ghana on Wednesday, August 12, 2020, held the 2020 edition of the Mobile Money (MoMO) stakeholder workshop to engage key players on ways to boost the growth of the fintech ecosystem.

In the midst of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) global pandemic, the use of digital financial services has become the norm of the day.

In Ghana, in particular, the adoption of the use of the service has been championed by the use of MTN mobile money.

With the Fintech and innovation center at the Bank of Ghana (BoG) helping in the delivery of digital financial services, MTN has today engaged stakeholders at a workshop to deliberate on ways to grow the fintech ecosystem.

Speaking at the stakeholder workshop on the theme ‘boosting growth of the Fintech Ecosystem in a Covid-19 World’, Mr. Eli Hini who is General Manager of Mobile Money Limited at MTN Ghana stressed that the Fintech Represents the future of financial services delivery in the country.

He noted that not only is his outlet looking at innovative programs to accelerate the growth of fintech ecosystems, but they are also looking at the governance structure to attract investments.

“We at Mobile Money Limited see the fintech as an integral part and a critical part for that matter on the financial service system. We see it as an opportunity to look at ways of collaborating, partnering, and supporting the growth of the ecosystem”, Mr. Eli Hini shared.

He continued, “We are looking at partnership with the developer community because they represent the whole innovation engine of Fintech and working with them to develop solutions that will help upscale the Fintech”.

Waving into the theme of the day, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Jumia Ghana, Diana Owusu-Kyereko echoed how the online market has been key in the era of the Covid-19 to serve customers with convenience while minimizing human contact to lower the risk of one getting in infected.

She believes that digital payments and services enabled by the Fintech ecosystem are really well-positioned to help flatten the Covid-19 curve in Ghana and across Africa and hence the need to grow the system.

Taking his turn to speak at the stakeholder workshop, the Managing Director of GT Bank, Thomas Attah John indicated that the way to grow Fintech in Ghana is dependent on partnerships, infrastructure, and making the right investment.

“The way forward is that Fintech in Ghana should rethink their funding sources, they should also look for ways to grow their customer base in order to enable them break-even”, he noted.

For Jerrydean Dadzie who is the CEO of the Ghana Chamber of Technology, the Covid-19 has presented a gateway to a new world where Fintech will be key. In line with that, he backs the notion that now more than ever digital financial services will be key.

To help grow the Fintech ecosystem in the country, he believes there is the need for a system that makes players comfortable to operate while service providers convince customers that this is the best way forward.

Taking his turn to speak at the workshop, head of Fintech and Innovation at the BoG, Kwame Oppong assured that as a regulator, his outfit is ready to play fair to help grow the fintech ecosystem.

While revealing that the demand for digital financial services in the Covid-19 world has seen significant growth, he emphasized the need for stakeholders to work together to grow the system.

“We have to collaborate. And as a central bank, we will continue to ensure that we will put the necessary framework in place such that we will have an effective and safe ecosystem. Whatever we do let’s keep out eyes on the fact that now more than ever we have to innovate ourselves into the future”, Kwame Oppong said.