The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) Business Council (CBC) has called on member states to fully adopt digital retail payments scheme to achieve digital financial inclusion.
Comesa CBC Chief Executive Officer Teddy Soobramanien said this yesterday at the opening of the CBC fifth digital financial inclusion public-private dialogue in Lilongwe.
“This dialogue is one way to pioneering a transformative path towards financial inclusion, economic empowerment and regional integration,” Soobramanien said.
Minister of Trade and Industry Simplex Chithyola said the government has engaged major technology firms in the country to foster digital financial inclusion agenda.
“The dialogue has come at the right time so that countries should have direction on how they can foster financial inclusion and empower micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), particularly women and youths, across the Comesa region,” Chithyola Banda said.
Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra) Director General Daud Suleman said universal access to information communication technology services remains a cornerstone for socio-economic development and inclusive growth, hence the need to invest in it.
According to Suleman, Macra has implemented various initiatives to bridge the digital divide and provide equal opportunities for all.
“Through our efforts, the population network coverage for broadband technologies, specifically 3G and 4G, has exceeded 80 percent to ensure that individuals and businesses, including MSMEs, have access to reliable and high-speed internet connectivity, thereby facilitating their participation in the digital economy and cross-border trade” Suleman said
The two-day dialogue has been designed to validate the draft operational plan for the Comesa digital retail payments scheme, which represents a remarkable opportunity to drive economic growth and financial empowerment not only to Malawians but to all selected countries.
The dialogue has brought together delegates from the eight pilot countries involved in the Digital Financial Inclusion Public- Private Programme (DFI) including Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mauritius, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zambia and host Malawi.
DFI Public- Private Programme, supported by the Gates Foundation, has so far conducted four Public- Private Dialogues, addressing various aspects of the activities.
