Author: ethelcofie

Africa’s Digital Sex Economy is quietly growing and investors are funding it : Size, Trends, and the New Hustle

Posted on May 5, 2025May 5, 2025 by ethelcofie

Africa’s Digital Sex Economy is quietly growing and investors are funding it : Size, Trends, and the New Hustle
Across Africa’s urban hubs—from Lagos to Johannesburg, Accra to Nairobi—a new economic frontier is quietly booming: the digital sex economy. Once confined to the backstreets and brothels, sex work has now migrated to private screens and subscription platforms. Powered by mobile technology, platforms like OnlyFans, Telegram, WhatsApp, and anonymous digital wallets, a new generation of African women (and some men) is reimagining how sexual labor is marketed, monetized, and consumed.

So Telcos Want to Become Banks—Now What? Rethinking the Future of Retail Banking in Africa

Posted on April 28, 2025April 28, 2025 by ethelcofie

So Telcos Want to Become Banks—Now What? Rethinking the Future of Retail Banking in Africa By 2023, MTN Mobile Money

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

Posted on April 25, 2025April 25, 2025 by ethelcofie

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?

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

Posted on April 22, 2025 by ethelcofie

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.

Rethinking the Talent Equation:How Ghana Can Compete in a Global Brain Economy

Posted on April 10, 2025 by ethelcofie

Rethinking the Talent Equation:How Ghana Can Compete in a Global Brain Economy As Ghana prepares for BRT 2025 under the

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

Posted on April 3, 2025April 3, 2025 by ethelcofie

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.

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 March 10, 2025 by ethelcofie

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.

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

Posted on March 7, 2025March 7, 2025 by ethelcofie

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.

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

Posted on February 27, 2025February 27, 2025 by ethelcofie

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.

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

Posted on October 14, 2024October 14, 2024 by ethelcofie

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.