At the recent YouthConnekt Africa Summit in Kigali, Rwanda, the United Nations Development Programme Resident Representative, Maxwell Gomera, spoke about the human connections that his mother, a greengrocer, built in her community. Though she lacked access to technology and capital, she knew her customers. That knowledge is a critical part of the connectivity issue.

Around the world, governments responded with social measures to ease the burden of the Covid-19 pandemic on individuals, households and SMEs. From Togo to Indonesia and Egypt to Guatemala, the shared value of the human experience made public, private and civil society organisations collaborate to reverse the impact on human progress. For some of these solutions, the delivery was enabled by leveraging payment infrastructures to alleviate the burden on the community.

In Guatemala, for example, the government’s Bono Familia programme was designed to bridge the gap to recovery. Nancy Gomez, a hair salon owner, could access financial help through a simplified process unlocked by an SMS. We did not have to wait for Covid-19 to demonstrate the importance of connectivity in transforming our economies though; the pandemic presented an accelerator, but the foundation was laid.

Across the continent, young and creative minds, many inspired by their mothers, are finding new pathways to ease the upliftment of African communities.

For instance, in Côte d’Ivoire, where I grew up, Moja Ride is transforming the way citizens commute. This Fintech solution is removing the need for drivers to carry cash and the conductor to look for change that he often does not have. While it might sound trivial for most, custom-built solutions have a possibility to increase social cohesion. And this is one of them.

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I am reminded of Maxwell Gomera’s account of his mother, the greengrocer, selling tomatoes and sacrificing part of her dream because she had no access to technology or capital. “Her business stayed small,” he said, “and her dreams stayed small.” His mother knew her customers and kept a detailed account of their preferences and served them accordingly, but she could not scale it.

This reality is changing now as young people across the continent and in Central Asia have witnessed first-hand the opportunity that their mothers could not realise. The missing link is often access to financial data, which is becoming less of a challenge for enterprising African women and youth.

In Nigeria, Paga built a solution to help small business owners digitise their businesses, including payments, point of sale and access to credit, via a mobile device. The Business Connect & Grow initiative, in partnership with Samsung, helped reach 6,000 merchants and more than 25,000 agents via Paga’s Doroki app.

Further afield, in Kyrgyzstan, the Dordoi Association and New Market Technologies focused on expanding the cashless acceptance infrastructure for electronic payments and electronic commerce in the Dordoi market. This entailed the development of a seamless, fast, and secure digital payment system tailored to suit the needs of merchants operating in Dordoi Bazaar.

From Guatemala to Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria and Kyrgyzstan, these are a few of the many successful partnerships for growth that were fostered. Here on the continent, cash transactions continue to dominate the exchange of goods and services, and so unfortunately, Maxwell’s mother’s experience remains the common experience of far too many women.

We must recognise the value that lies in the core capabilities that are required to address the following three critical enablers: regulation that enhances interoperability within and across borders; financial education with a critical module of consumer protection; and connectivity in peri-urban and rural areas.

Thinking about these three elements, I am reminded of human-centred strategist Niti Bhan who makes the case for us to uncover the hidden opportunities of the informal economy. When we speak about “One Africa, One Voice” – a theme which underscores the need for organisations to work together across borders and industries for the benefit of all – we need to ask: whose Africa and whose voice?

As Niti Bhan said in her 2017 TED talk, women are the “fertile seeds of businesses and enterprises that keep the engines running. They put food on your table. Even here in this hotel, the invisible ones – the butchers, the bakers, the candlestick makers – they make the machines that make your French fries, and they make your beds. These are the invisible businesswomen trading across borders, on the side of the road, and so they’re invisible to data gatherers.”

As I listened to Maxwell Gomera’s speech to African youth, I thought, we need to recognise the skills embedded in our communities. Then, the “One Africa, One Voice” will become inclusive. It would set the path for building the Africa we all dream about.

In doing so, we will transform our economies with enabling prosperity as the ultimate goal, opening “customised doorways” for women and youth to enter or integrate national, regional, and global value chains.

By coming together as one, we recognise the importance of designing solutions with women and youth at the centre so that their “dreams do not remain a hobby”, as Maxwell phrased it. Scale, connectivity, and mentorship is the winning formula as we collaborate and combine our core capabilities to realise impactful and sustainable socioeconomic transformation on the African continent. DM

Carl Manlan is Vice President Inclusive Impact and Sustainability of Visa CEMEA (Central and Eastern European, Middle East and Africa region). This is an edited version of his keynote speech delivered at the Africa Shared Value Leadership Summit in Kigali, Rwanda.