Africa’s $2 Trillion Instant Payment Boom and What It Means for Trade and Economic Growth with Sabine Mensah

Episode 207 with Sabine Mensah, Deputy CEO of AfricaNenda Foundation and co author of the State of Inclusive Instant Payment Systems in Africa 2025 report, one of the most comprehensive studies on Africa’s digital payments infrastructure.The SIIPS 2025 report reveals the extraordinary scale of Africa’s instant payments transformation, with 64 billion real time payment transactions worth nearly 2 trillion dollars processed in 2024 alone. Sabine shares what this rapid growth means for Africa’s digital economy and why instant payments are no longer a fintech niche, but a core driver of trade, productivity, and financial inclusion across the continent.Drawing on insights from 31 countries, we explore why Nigeria has emerged as Africa’s first fully mature instant payment system, the governance and interoperability decisions behind NIBSS’s success, and the critical lessons other African markets must learn to scale inclusive payment infrastructure.The conversation dives into how instant payments are reshaping cross border trade, remittances, and SME cash flow, why payment systems are foundational to AfCFTA success, and how real time payments unlock faster settlement, liquidity, and growth for African businesses. Sabine also explains why scale alone does not guarantee inclusion, highlighting the importance of trust, consumer protection, and system design in driving sustained adoption.What We Discuss With SabineWhy instant payments have become the backbone of Africa’s digital economy and a prerequisite for trade, growth, and financial inclusionHow Nigeria became the first African country to achieve a fully mature instant payment system and what other markets can learn from its governance and interoperability modelThe role of real time payments in transforming cross border trade, remittances, and SME cash flow under AfCFTAWhy scale alone does not equal inclusion and how trust, consumer protection, and system design shape who benefits from digital paymentsInstant payments as digital public infrastructure and what policymakers, investors, and founders must do now to unlock Africa’s next decade of economic growthDid you miss my previous episode where I discuss Unlocking Diaspora Wealth: How Housing Investment Is Driving African Development? Make sure to check it out!Connect with Terser:LinkedIn - Terser AdamuInstagram - unlockingafricaTwitter (X) - @TerserAdamuConnect with Sabine:LinkedIn - Sabine Mensah and AfricaNenda FoundationMany of the businesses unlocking opportunities in Africa don’t do it alone. If you’d like strategic support on entering or expanding across African markets, reach out to our partners ETK Group:[email protected]