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By Chinenye Anuforo
Interswitch Group, an integrated payments and digital commerce company, has emphasised the imperative for strategic regulatory engagement and partnership for African technology players who desire to scale their operations effectively across the continent.
Africa’s burgeoning Fintech ecosystem presents a unique opportunity to deepen financial inclusion, foster economic integration, and drive digital innovation.
However, the current licensing and regulatory landscape, marked by a variety of approaches in regulating fintechs with often high barriers to entry and fragmented oversight, poses significant barriers to growth and cross-border scalability. In response, the Africa Fintech Network (AFN) has consistently championed a harmonized fintech licensing initiative aimed at fostering a more coordinated and enabling regulatory environment across the continent.
Speaking at an AFN Webinar to commemorate World Fintech Day on 1st August, themed ‘Mapping the Path for Fintech License Passporting in Africa’, Interswitch Group CEO, Mitchell Elegbe shared extensive insights and learnings from Interswitch’s journey from nascent player to pan-African fintech and payments champion operating across multiple regions of the continent.
The core premise of this initiative by the AFN is that a mutually recognized licensing framework will accelerate innovation, streamline compliance, and enhance regional collaboration, contributing to boosting intra-African trade and financial inclusion. It is believed, as evidenced in other jurisdictions, that by reducing regulatory friction and duplicative licensing burdens, fintech and digital finance firms can scale faster, improve operational efficiency, and focus on delivering inclusive, market-driven solutions across borders.
As Africa’s foremost fintech unicorn, Elegbe was tasked to share his perspective based on experiences with licensing and regulations given Interswitch’s operations in multiple countries. According to him, Interswitch Group operates with multiple distinct licenses from regulators across jurisdictions like Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Gambia and Mauritius with each respective license application accompanied by distinct licensing procedures, application processes and expiration dates.
He asserts that “We are, therefore, often tasked with managing the expectations of our partners during the period between the expiration date and the renewal date about our status to operate. Also, there is the challenge of overlapping regulations as fintechs in many countries in Africa are regulated by multiple bodies such as Central Banks and Telecom Regulators, which leads to duplicated licensing processes, conflicting compliance requirements and delays in approvals.
He also acknowledged that regulatory frameworks are not static and while fintechs must remain agile to adapt to existing frameworks, these constantly changing frameworks affect the renewal of license applications as the expectation is that implementation of the requirements are tied to license renewals.
Elegbe underscored specific initiatives Interswitch has undertaken to invest in proactive and effective regulatory relationship management to include hiring experienced local compliance officers on ground in the countries the companies operates/invests in, participating in policy dialogues such as the AFN’s and actively engaging and sharing feedback on regulatory drafts, among others. He emphasized the need for operators to collaborate with regulators on areas of concern and seek clarity where necessary.
Elegbe commented on importance of embracing maturity modelling by African businesses; emphasizing that Maturity modeling, across respective critical functions and disciplines is crucial for organizations because it provides a framework for assessing and improving performance, identifying weaknesses, and fostering continuous improvement.
He asserted that in Interswitch’s case, as it has grown and scaled operations across markets, maturity modelling has helped the business understand current capabilities, benchmark industry best practices, and develop strategies for growth and optimization. According to him “By highlighting areas needing attention, maturity models enable organizations to make informed decisions, allocate resources effectively, and ultimately achieve their goals.”
To mark World Fintech Day on August 1, the Africa Fintech Network hosted the Virtual Town Hall, which also featured other speakers including Ali Hussein Kassim, Chairman of Association of Fintechs in Kenya, Dr. Bukola Akinwunmi, Director of Banking Supervision at Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Adedoyin Odunfa, MD/CEO at Digital Jewels and Dr. Patrick Conteh, CEO at Africa Fintech Network, as the first public forum, to address the growing need for a harmonized fintech licensing framework across Africa. This event brought together key players, regulators, innovators, policymakers, and investors, to explore how fintech license passporting can address regulatory barriers, support cross-border growth, and expand access to financial services.
The town hall reflects AFN’s commitment to work with stakeholders in building practical solutions that support a more connected and thriving fintech ecosystem across the continent. The Town Hall dialogue is aimed at gaining a high-level understanding of the current fintech licenses’ environment and how to potentially position a licenses passporting scheme amid the related challenges. Insights from international experience and from the Ghana/Rwanda initiative would be useful in this regard.
