Cashless Africa

Africa is poised to be a 3 trillion dollar economy by 2030. Kenya, with the success of MPESA, has been the economic powerhouse of East Africa. Due to this widely adopted digital payment system, there are big opportunities in building complete digital systems and using technology to create financial inclusion. The MasterCard Innovation Lab, established with a $19 million grant from The Gates Foundation, has created a new product called Kionect, a digital payments solution- from ear to tail- to include micro-small to medium enterprises in the wider financial system, and give them the access and advantages of credit, payment flexibility, and inventory management. Thank you to Michael Eliot, Phillip Herrey, Bruno Witvoet, Temitope Seni-Alabede and Dennis GiKunda. To learn more about the lab in Nairobi, go to their site: https://www.mastercard.us/content/mccom/en-us/about-mastercard/corp-responsibility/social-sustainability/the-mastercard-labs-for-financial-inclusion.html/