Africa's financial technology sector needs to abandon fragmented growth patterns and embrace interconnected systems that can deliver exponential results across the continent. This was the central message from industry leaders at the 3i Africa Summit 2026 in Accra on Thursday.
Haruna Shaibu, Chief Executive Officer of Mobile Money Fintech Limited (MMFL), delivered a compelling argument for what he termed "digital leapfrogging" during a panel discussion. His presentation focused on building systems rooted in interoperability, shared infrastructure, and customer-focused innovation.
Beyond Platform Wars
Speaking on the topic "From platforms to systems: building foundations, scaling Africa's Digital Finance Economy," Shaibu made it clear that Africa's digital finance future will not emerge from isolated platforms. Instead, success will come from systems that work seamlessly across borders and institutions.
"Leapfrogging is very simple, you can look at it as either growing exponentially or growing incrementally. And oftentimes, when a new technology is introduced, everybody jumps on it. We all end up doing the very same things."
I found Shaibu's critique particularly sharp when he warned that digital finance expansion across Africa has largely happened through duplication rather than transformation. This approach, he argued, limits impact and slows genuine financial inclusion progress.
Learning from Internet Café Era
Shaibu drew an interesting parallel with the early internet boom to illustrate his point about fragmented innovation. He recalled how the internet explosion led to a rush of internet café businesses that ended up competing destructively rather than building sustainable ecosystems.
"I recall many years ago when the internet explosion came about, everybody suddenly wanted to have an internet café. We built internet café businesses that were cannibalising each other."
The comparison resonated because it highlights how technology adoption without strategic system design leads to waste and inefficiency. Africa must now shift from this fragmented approach to deliberate system architecture that enables true scale.
Building the "Big Pipes"
What particularly notable was Shaibu's infrastructure analogy for explaining how digital finance systems should be constructed. He compared it to road network planning, where you build main arteries first before connecting feeder roads.
"When you are building a road network, you ask yourself: do you build the main artery first, and then connect the feeders into the artery?"
This thinking should apply to digital finance infrastructure. The focus should be on building robust foundational systems that can support an entire ecosystem of connected services.
The Connectivity Challenge
Shaibu noted that regulators and industry players have made significant progress building core infrastructure. The challenge now lies in scaling these systems across different markets and platforms effectively.
"We have built those foundational big pipes. Now how do we layer on and scale?"
His warning against excessive platform competition was particularly pointed. Too many companies are building similar solutions instead of focusing on strengthening connections between existing systems.
The 3i Africa Summit continues to serve as a critical forum for these discussions, bringing together leaders who are shaping the continent's digital finance trajectory. For those following developments in financial technology, Shaibu's call for interconnected systems represents a mature perspective on sustainable growth in Africa's FinTech sector.