PAPSS, Afreximbank-led Fee Initiative Expands to 16 International locations

The Pan-African Fee and Settlement System (PAPSS), an Afreximbank-led initiative aimed toward simplifying cross-border transactions inside Africa, has expanded its attain to 16 international locations, with 15 monetary establishments and 14 nationwide switches now related.

This milestone marks important progress within the effort to spice up intra-African commerce by lowering reliance on foreign currency, reducing transaction prices, and accelerating fee processes.

The system, which leverages digital innovation and real-time settlement capabilities, is seen as a cornerstone of the African Continental Free Commerce Space (AfCFTA) and a serious step towards financial integration throughout the continent.

Talking on the journey to date for PAPSS, throughout a panel session on the theme: ‘Technological Developments & Synthetic Intelligence — Pathways to Africa’s Socio-Financial Improvement,’ on the ongoing Afreximbank Annual Conferences in Abuja, Nigeria, Mr. Mike Ogbalu, CEO, PAPSS, who was among the many panelists, revealed that, “PAPSS has expanded to 16 international locations, with 15 monetary establishments and 14 switches related throughout Africa—and we’re rising quickly. We’re starting to see significant scaling and adoption of PAPSS capabilities throughout digital channels, which is accelerating our impression.”

He identified that AI was additionally serving to rework companies on the continent.

“Right this moment, funds are extra about information than bodily money. With AI instruments, we are able to course of and analyse huge datasets to generate actionable insights. For example, we now use AI in our Anti-Cash Laundering (AML) methods. As an alternative of relying solely on static guidelines, our methods at the moment are educated to detect and be taught new patterns, making it simpler to foretell and stop fraud.

“We’re optimistic concerning the tempo of adoption. We’re at the moment lively in 16 international locations and are seeing momentum in Francophone Central and West Africa. By the top of this 12 months, we anticipate to increase to 30 international locations, overlaying greater than 500 million financial institution accounts,” Ogbalu mentioned.

Additionally, commenting on the theme of the session, the panelists identified that as Africa grapples with rising meals insecurity and a quickly rising inhabitants, specialists have burdened the necessity to flip to Synthetic Intelligence (AI) and innovation as important instruments for remodeling the continent’s agricultural panorama.

They emphasised that smarter farming strategies, AI-driven information methods, and digital infrastructure can unlock productiveness, scale back post-harvest losses, and assist obtain meals sovereignty.

Prof. Nicholas Ozor, Govt Director, African Expertise Coverage Research Community (ATPS), in his contribution, famous that expertise and innovation drive every thing globally.

“In Africa, over 70% of the inhabitants is concerned in agriculture, but we nonetheless wrestle to feed ourselves. In the meantime, in international locations like the USA, solely about 4% are concerned in agriculture, and they’re food-sufficient. The distinction lies within the utility of science, expertise, and innovation.
“Innovation allows us to do issues smarter. At present, Africans are more and more embracing expertise throughout all sectors, as a result of it’s the solely sustainable approach to obtain economies of scale and enhance productiveness.

“To make sure meals safety, 4 parts have to be addressed: availability, entry, utilisation, and stability. For instance, 120 farmers working for eight hours may be changed by a single tractor that completes the identical process in only one hour. That’s the ability of expertise.

“Whereas Africa is aware of tips on how to produce uncooked supplies, we frequently lack the power so as to add worth. Take cocoa, as an illustration: we produce it, but international locations like Switzerland course of it and make one of the best sweets. This illustrates our underutilisation of the worth chain,” Ozor defined.

When it comes to meals stability, he identified that there are climate-smart applied sciences that use predictive analytics to forecast climate patterns.

“In my organisation, for instance, we’ve developed instruments that may precisely estimate rainfall quantity for a complete 12 months in particular places. At ATPS, we’re main efforts in growing, deploying, and scaling AI throughout meals methods and agriculture.

“We at the moment have 12 tasks in 10 African international locations, together with Nigeria. One such challenge makes use of AI within the cultivation and advertising and marketing of scent leaf (domestically often called Nchuanwu), broadly grown in Southeastern Nigeria (Capsicum delis).

Expertise now permits distant farm administration by the Web of Issues (IoT). I can irrigate crops from the place I’m, monitor soil moisture utilizing sensors, and automate watering. I can monitor my livestock, monitor their motion, detect when an animal is in warmth and must be mated—all from a distance. We are able to even embed chips in cattle to forestall rustling and guarantee safety. That is the ability of expertise in agriculture and past,” he added.

For Prof. Andreas Klasen, Honorary Analysis Affiliate, College of Oxford, innovation throughout the African continent is not only fascinating, but it surely’s important.

Many good corporations need assistance scaling successfully, and digitisation presents a transformative alternative.

“Africa has the possibility to leapfrog growth levels, a degree emphasised throughout the opening session. I labored on a challenge for the Asian Improvement Financial institution in Georgia final 12 months, centered on financial growth and digital commerce. What we found applies equally to Africa: digitisation is a game-changer for growing and rising economies.”