Rwanda is positioning itself at the centre of Africa’s next financial technology revolution, with Equity Group Managing Director and CEO, Dr. James Mwangi, arguing that the continent cannot afford to miss another opportunity to shape the future of global finance after pioneering mobile money systems decades ago.

Speaking at an Africa CEO Forum 2026 side event hosted by Equity Group on May 15 under the theme "From Fintech to Futuretech: Scaling Africa’s Digital Economy,” Mwangi said Rwanda’s ambitions extend far beyond becoming a technology hub.

Mwangi, who contributed to two separate panel discussions at the side event, described the country as a future platform where digital identity, blockchain, artificial intelligence, payments, and continental trade intersect.

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Mwangi held that Africa has already demonstrated its ability to innovate in financial technology, but has often failed to commercialise or globalise those innovations.

"Africa invented the first stable coin, but failed to call it a stable coin. The definition of a stable coin is the definition of our mobile money. But we never took it to the next level,” he said.

"At the intersection of technology and money in the financial sector, Rwanda has developed the competence and capability," he stated, pointing to the country’s growing digital infrastructure and regulatory reforms.

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Mwangi argued that technology alone would not deliver the transformation Rwanda seeks unless it is backed by financial systems, investment, and partnerships capable of scaling innovations across the continent.

"We need fintech startups, investors, regulators, and financial institutions to work together because Rwanda’s ambitions will require close collaboration between governments, private sector players, and innovators. The goal is to make digital finance relevant to all citizens by expanding inclusion in economic activities,” he said.

According to Mwangi, the goal is not simply to build infrastructure, but to create systems that allow African innovators and young entrepreneurs to develop and commercialise solutions using Rwanda’s digital public infrastructure.

Africa must stop "catching up” and start shaping the future of technology

The Minister of ICT and Innovation, Paula Ingabire, said Africa must move beyond "catching up” and begin shaping how emerging technologies serve African economies and citizens.

"When you look at Africa’s 1.4 billion people, the median age of 19, and the fastest growing digital economy on the planet, we cannot afford to continue to catch up,” she said.

"We need to start setting the pace and defining how technology works for us, how technology empowers our people, and how it delivers value for our people.”

Ingabire warned that the next phase of digital transformation would come with higher stakes and greater risks of exclusion if African countries fail to build the right infrastructure and policy frameworks.

"The convergence of fintech, digital assets, and artificial intelligence is not just changing how money moves,” she said. "It is changing how we create value and who gets left out.”

According to Ingabire, Africa’s digital economy cannot scale without foundational infrastructure such as interoperable payment systems, digital identity frameworks, data infrastructure, and computing capacity.

She also cautioned that Africa risks falling behind in artificial intelligence if it remains dependent on foreign computing infrastructure and cloud systems.

"AI trained on foreign data, hosted on foreign clouds, and serving foreign business models will not serve African needs,” she said.

Ingabire stated that Rwanda has already introduced policies on artificial intelligence and digital assets, including legislation aimed at regulating emerging technologies such as stablecoins, as part of efforts to position the country at the forefront of digital innovation.

She also called for stronger public-private partnerships, saying governments alone cannot build Africa’s digital future.