Mr Clement Osei-Amoako, the President of the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI), has urged African countries to improve the infrastructure base of its economy to ensure smooth implementation of digital currency and free trade in Africa.

The President of GNCCI noted that there are numerous opportunities inherent in the implementation of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the adoption of the digital currency (e-currency). According to him, because the continent is endowed with a large market size, the leaders must capitalize on it to develop the continent. He thus, encouraged leaders of the region to fix the infrastructural challenges in order to open-up the continent for rapid growth and development.

“We’ve started with some few people; businesses and some industries are trying to export their products to neighbouring countries. For me, the market as we speak now, is about 1.5 billion. It is huge, and the benefit of even creating jobs and supporting our digital currency drive cannot be over emphasised.”
Mr Clement Osei-Amoako

The President of the Chamber suggested that, there is an urgent need for governments across the continent to build railways and dual carriageways that would connect countries for easy transportation of people and goods, to make intra Africa trade attractive.

More Education Needed

Mr Osei-Amoako highlighted the importance of the formal sector. He stated that, it is important for governments on the continent to quickly provide structures and policies that would transform the economy from a primarily informal sector to a formal one.

The President of GNCCI asserted that with adequate public education on the implementation and advantages of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the e-currency, it would spur economic growth and job creation on the continent.

Mr Osei-Amoako urged governments to support the informal sector of the economy by providing training to those in the sector to formalise their activities and empower them to use the digital payment systems. He averred that Digital currency helps to foster faster payments. According to Mr Amoako, it is also less expensive than the regular payment systems that the continent already has. “You make your transactions person to person; you don’t need an intermediary”.

Mr Osei-Amoako believed that the involvement of the informal sector would widen the tax bracket and promote liquidity flow through the identification of businesses and their transactions.

Africa Countries Exploring Digital Currency

Some countries on the continent have started launching their versions of the e-currency, while others are at the implementation stage. Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, launched the continent’s first digital currency, the e-Naira.

Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari, unveiled the e-Naira and said it could potentially boost Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product by up to $29 billion over the next decade.

Another Africa country in the process of the e-currency implementation is Ghana. Dr Ernest Addison, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), noted that Ghana is on track to introduce Ghana’s digital currency, the E-Cedi. Thus, in September 2021, the BoG went into the pilot stage of the digital E-Cedi.