CEO and Principal Partner of Africa Investment Group in Ghana and Switzerland Dr. Sam Ankrah, has challenged African microfinance institutions to embrace digital transformation or risk becoming obsolete in an increasingly technology-driven financial sector.
Delivering the keynote address at the International Microfinance Investors’ Summit 2026 in Accra, Dr. Ankrah said technology has become the defining force shaping the future of financial inclusion across the continent and urged microfinance institutions to modernise their operations to remain competitive.
The two-day summit, organised by the Financial Inclusion Advocacy Centre (FIAC) and its partners, brought together regulators, policymakers, investors, development partners, financial institutions, fintech innovators and industry leaders from across Africa under the theme, “Repositioning Microfinance for Investment, Growth and Stability.”
According to Dr. Ankrah, Africa is no longer following global trends in digital finance but is leading them.
He noted that the continent processed approximately US$1.1 trillion in mobile money transactions in 2024, accounting for nearly two-thirds of all mobile money value globally and about three-quarters of the world’s transactions.
He said the rapid growth of digital finance has created new opportunities for microfinance institutions to reduce operating costs, expand financial inclusion and improve access to credit for millions of previously unbanked Africans.
Dr. Ankrah urged institutions to move beyond traditional branch-based operations and embrace digital platforms that integrate lending, payments and savings into customers’ everyday economic activities.
“Legacy microfinance is expensive. Branches everywhere create overhead, overhead creates high interest rates, and those rates fall on the entrepreneurs we exist to serve. The future is a hybrid model—human trust, powered by digital speed,” he said.
Despite the opportunities, he cautioned that technology is not a substitute for sound corporate governance.
“Technology does not fix governance. Technology accelerates whatever is already in the building. A badly governed institution that digitises simply makes bad loans faster and at greater scale,” he warned.
Dr. Ankrah pointed to countries such as Rwanda and Ethiopia as examples of how digital innovation is transforming microfinance institutions into stronger and more efficient financial organisations capable of serving millions of customers.
He also highlighted the steady rise in financial inclusion across Sub-Saharan Africa, noting that account ownership has increased significantly over the past decade, driven largely by mobile money and digital financial services.
However, he cautioned that institutions that fail to embrace digital transformation risk losing customers to fintech companies and mobile money operators.
“Digitise, or be disintermediated,” he said.
Dr. Ankrah concluded by urging African microfinance institutions to combine technological innovation with strong governance, institutional competence and effective regulation to build resilient businesses capable of attracting long-term investment and driving inclusive economic growth.
