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The Indian government has committed $2 million to the Africa Digital Financial Inclusion Facility (ADFI), which is managed by the African Development Bank (AfDB). This contribution demonstrates India’s dedication to breaking down barriers that hinder the growth and adoption of digital financial solutions and accelerating financial inclusion in Africa.
India is widely recognized for the success of its digital public payments system, which has transformed governance, financial inclusion, and resilience for millions of people within the country. By collaborating with ADFI, the facility gains valuable insights from India’s best practices, enabling the scaling up of initiatives to meet the needs of financially excluded and underserved populations in Africa.
Despite the positive impact of digitization on sustainable development in Africa, recent data indicates that nearly half of the continent’s adult population still lacks access to digital financial solutions, particularly women, youth, farmers, small businesses, and rural communities.
Manisha Sinha, Additional Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs and Principal ADFI Governing Council Member for India, highlights the unique, affordable, inclusive, and equitable model of India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) as an opportunity for shared learning across the digital finance ecosystem. India’s extensive experience in digital financial services, extending financial inclusion to remote rural areas, and establishing infrastructure for digitization offers significant potential to collaborate within the ADFI partnership and promote digital financial inclusion across Africa.
ADFI aligns with the African Development Bank’s Ten-Year Strategy focus on inclusive growth and the High 5 priority to improve the quality of life for the continent’s people. Its mission involves scaling innovative digital financial solutions through infrastructure development, policy and regulatory support, and product innovation, with a strong emphasis on capacity building and gender inclusion.
Solomon Quaynor, Vice President for the Private Sector, Infrastructure, and Industrialization at the African Development Bank, expresses gratitude for India’s support, recognizing the catalytic role ADFI plays in increasing access and usage of digital financial solutions for financial inclusion across Africa. He looks forward to integrating lessons from India’s success in digital public infrastructure into the bank’s expanding portfolio of digital financial initiatives to foster greater economic empowerment, resilience, and growth throughout the continent.
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