AfDB, Gates Foundation plan digital finance fund

African Development Bank (AfDB) interim Vice Chairman, Stefan Nalletamby, has announced plans for a new investment fund for digital finance.

This was disclosed at the opening ceremony of the 4th Round Table of the leaders of the African Initiative on Financial Services Policy (AMPI) held in Dakar in Senegal.

The $30 million funds will be supported by the Gates Foundation.

AfDB and the AMPI believe that the African fund for digital finance will support innovation of digital finance services in the mobile and internet sectors, as part of extension of financial inclusion in Africa.

Mobile phone usage is growing rapidly in the continent, providing a platform through which African people access the internet.

According to AfDB and AMPI, supporting innovation in financial services around mobile telephones will be an opportunity for the socio-economic development of the African population and economic growth of the continent.

According to the Central Bank of West African States CFA 5,121,000,000,000 have passed through mobile money platforms in the west African zone, as of September 2015. This represents $346.9 million in monetary transactions made.