Decoupling SIM Cards from Mobile Money: A Critical Path for Smaller Operators to Compete?

Posted on by

Decoupling SIM Cards from Mobile Money: A Critical Path for Smaller Operators to Compete?
In many African markets, including Ghana and Kenya, mobile money remains tightly coupled to SIM card ownership. Your phone number is your wallet. While this integration worked brilliantly to drive initial adoption, it has also cemented the dominance of major telecom providers who control both mobile connectivity and financial access.
But what if we rethought this model? What if smaller mobile money operators could decouple SIM registration from mobile wallet ownership — allowing customers to use their services without first becoming phone service subscribers?

Continue reading

Building In-House AI Capacity in Banking: A Director’s Guide to What to Hire and How to Hire

Posted on by

Building In-House AI Capacity in Banking: A Director’s Guide to What to Hire and How to Hire
Why Build AI Capacity Internally?
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer a future concept — it is reshaping banking today. From detecting fraud in real-time to helping customers get faster loan decisions, AI has the potential to significantly increase efficiency, improve risk management, and enhance customer experience.
However, relying solely on outside vendors means you:
• May not fully own your data insights.
• Lose flexibility in tailoring solutions to your unique needs.
• Risk exposing sensitive customer data.
Building internal AI capacity allows the bank to:
• Control and secure its most valuable asset — customer and operational data.
• Develop models and systems that are custom-fit to the bank’s goals and compliance environment.
• Respond quickly to changing regulatory demands and market conditions.

Continue reading

Making the Case for Open Banking in Ghana: A Strategic Imperative for the Bank of Ghana

Posted on by

A New Way to Power Finance in Ghana Imagine being able to use a single mobile app to see your bank accounts, mobile money wallets, savings, insurance, and even your loan eligibility—all in one place, in real-time. Now imagine that app recommending the best savings plan or offering a better loan deal from a different bank with just a few clicks. That is the power of Open Banking.

Continue reading

In 2017, the UAE Launched the One Million Arab Coders Program—It Led to Market Saturation. What Can Ghana Learn in its 1 Million Coders project ?

Posted on by

This signals a strong recognition that digital skills are essential for Ghana’s future. But to maximize impact, we must ask:

Key Questions:

1️⃣ Is a mass coders initiative still relevant in the age of AI? With automation taking over, do we need 1 million programmers?
2️⃣ How do we ensure job creation, not just training? Without a structured framework, Ghana risks oversaturating the market with unemployed coders.

This article explores the good, the bad, and the ugly—and presents a clear execution framework, with remote work and BPO as the key solutions to ensuring success.

Continue reading

Ghana’s Startup Bill Nears Approval: Lessons from Africa’s Best and Worst Startup Laws

Posted on by

Ghana is on the brink of a potentially transformative moment for its entrepreneurial ecosystem. The Ghana Innovation and Startup Bill, spearheaded by the Ministry of Communications, Digital Technology, and Innovation, aims to provide a structured legal framework to formalize support for startups, attract investment, and stimulate innovation. If passed, this bill could significantly improve access to funding, regulatory clarity, tax incentives, and ecosystem collaboration. However, given the experiences of other African nations that have implemented Startup Acts, Ghana must approach this bill with both optimism and caution.

Continue reading

Taxing Big Tech in Africa: A Necessary Move, But Are We Killing Our Own Digital Growth?

Posted on by

Taxing Big Tech in Africa: A Necessary Move, But Are We Killing Our Own Digital Growth?
In recent years, African governments have been looking for ways to tax non-resident tech giants—companies like Amazon, Google, and Meta—who generate billions in revenue from African consumers but contribute little in taxes to the local economy. On the surface, this seems like a fair move. After all, if these companies are making money in our markets, shouldn’t they pay their fair share?
But here’s the problem: If not done carefully, these digital taxes could hurt the very businesses and digital ecosystems African governments are trying to grow.
Let’s break it down.

Continue reading

Why Most Corporate-Startup Partnerships Fail—and How to Fix It! (My lessons from judging top corporate startup competitions)

Posted on by

Having had the privilege of judging numerous business pitch competitions across various industries—including the USAID Armyworm Challenge, the MTN Challenge for several years, the Africa Engineering Prize, MIT Solve, the Ghana Government Presidential Pitch, GSMA GLOMO Awards, and most recently the Ecobank Fintech Challenge—I’ve gained deep insights into the intersection of corporate and startup worlds. These competitions are a testament to the corporate sector’s desire to stay attuned to emerging trends in technology and innovation, a vital step in avoiding irrelevance. However, beyond the excitement of the pitch, I’ve observed a consistent gap: many corporates struggle to effectively capitalize on the potential of startup partnerships to truly drive growth.

Continue reading

What If MTN Ghana Became a Bank? Would It Be Bigger Than Your Bank?

Posted on by

I left the conference thinking about what it would look like if telecom companies in Ghana could get banking licenses. I conducted an analysis of the potential effects, focusing on MTN due to its significant market share. It is important to note that MTN has clearly stated it is not seeking a banking license.

My analysis is based on data from the Ghana Banking Industry Report 2023 (A Report by LIMA Partners), the NCA data subscription analysis for December 2022 to January 2023, MTN Ghana’s FY 2023 results, and the BFT Banking Industry’s Performance in 2023 at a glance article, which is based on the summary of macroeconomic and financial data released by the Bank of Ghana (BoG).

Continue reading