President Paul Kagame met with a delegation from the Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) Private Sector Coalition Group at Urugwiro Village in Kigali on October 27, 2026, as Rwanda and African partners seek to turn the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) vision into practical financial and digital solutions.
The delegation was led by Dr. James Mwangi, CEO of Equity Group Holdings, and Dr. Robert Ochola of the AfricaNenda Foundation, alongside members of the DPI Private Sector Coalition Group.
According to details of the meeting, discussions focused on strengthening collaboration to build and advance interoperable digital payment systems across regions, expanding access to financial services for broader populations, supporting economic integration and trade goals under the AfCFTA through improved digital and financial connectivity, and encouraging stronger ties between governments, fintechs and financial institutions to unlock entrepreneurship and trade.
The meeting reflects President Kagame’s continued focus on translating the AfCFTA vision into practical solutions, particularly by advancing interoperable digital payments and financial inclusion as tools to unlock greater trade, investment and economic opportunities across borders.
Opinion: One African Market Needs a Financial System That Connects Africans
Africa’s economic future cannot be built on fragmented markets and disconnected payment systems. The continent’s ambition anchored in the AfCFTA will remain incomplete if Africans and African businesses cannot move money, trade and invest across borders with the same ease they do within their own countries.
In that sense, the meeting between President Kagame and the DPI Private Sector Coalition Group is more than a courtesy call. It is a signal that the next phase of African integration must be practical, digital and financial. Interoperable payment systems are not a technical luxury; they are core infrastructure for a single African market. Financial inclusion is not merely a social goal; it is an economic growth strategy.
By connecting governments, fintechs and financial institutions, Africa can reduce the friction that keeps too many people outside the formal economy and too many businesses confined to national markets. The promise is clear: greater trade, more investment and wider economic opportunity across borders.
One African market needs a financial system that connects Africans. The work discussed in Kigali is a step toward that future but it must be followed by sustained public-private cooperation and implementation at scale.
