Visa Chairman and CEO Alfred F. Kelly Jr. outlined the pledge during the US-Africa Business Forum alongside the US-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, DC.
The company said that the new investment will help enable greater access to digital payments as an entry point for expanding formal financial services for individuals and merchants.
It would also further scale the company’s operations in Africa, and deepen collaboration with strategic partners including governments, financial institutions, mobile network operators, fintechs and merchants.
The investment focuses on strengthening the payment ecosystem through new innovations and technologies, supporting digitisation of economies, and investing in upskilling, talent development and capacity building.
“We look forward to continuing to work closely with our partners to advance the financial ecosystem, accelerate digitisation and to build resilient, innovative, and inclusive economies that will create shared opportunity and further spur Africa’s digital economy,” said Kelly said.
The investment also aims to facilitate additional opportunities to expand financial inclusion.
Visa said that it is dedicated to empowering small- and women-led entrepreneurship in Africa through its operations and community programs, as an estimated 500 million people in Africa are without access to formal financial services, less than 50 percent of the adult population made or received digital payments in Africa, and more than 40 million merchants do not accept digital payments
“Africa is experiencing an unprecedented digital acceleration, with a growing number of consumers, merchants and businesses realizing the benefits of secure and convenient digital payments to fuel commerce and money movement,” said Aida Diarra, Senior Vice President, Visa Sub-Saharan Africa.
Leila Serhan, Senior Vice President at Visa for North Africa Levant and Pakistan, noted that expanding financial inclusion is critical to long-term economic prosperity.
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