Africa’s leading payments technology firm, Flutterwave, has outlined a strategic pathway to building a thriving and sustainable digital economy across the continent.

At a private Digital Economy Roundtable hosted by Invest Africa on the sidelines of the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C., the company led discussions around three key pillars: scaling cross-border digital infrastructure, strengthening fintech integration and regulatory harmonisation, and mobilising investment capital.

The session, moderated by Shannon Stround, brought together global investors, development finance institutions, policymakers, and technology leaders to assess investment trends and infrastructure needs in Africa’s digital economy.

Speaking at the event, Flutterwave’s Chief Legal, Regulatory and Public Policy Officer, Bankole Falade, emphasised the central role of seamless payments in economic growth.

“Economies grow and businesses thrive when payments flow efficiently. When we started 10 years ago, our goal was to connect fragmented payment systems across Africa,” he said.

“What we’ve done is link these disconnected systems with a single API. Over the next decade, our focus is to connect Africa to the world—and the world to Africa—through seamless payment solutions.”

Falade also advocated regulatory passporting as a means to lower cross-border entry barriers and accelerate continental integration.

He noted that Flutterwave has built robust financial infrastructure, regulatory frameworks, and bank-grade governance systems to support scalable growth, reinforcing Africa’s position as a compelling long-term investment destination—particularly in digital infrastructure, fintech, and technology-enabled sectors.

According to him, while individual markets present strong opportunities, cross-border scalability remains critical to unlocking the continent’s next growth phase, requiring deeper regional integration and interoperable systems.

Head of Strategy and Operations at Bridgit, Antwi Bridgit, highlighted the importance of mobilising investment capital to drive ecosystem consolidation and expand access to short-term liquidity solutions.

Also speaking, Flutterwave’s Head of SME Business, Bolanle Baruwa, described the need for a “payments superhighway” to facilitate global capital flows into Africa’s estimated $1.5 trillion digital economy.

She stressed the importance of building structured talent pipelines, shifting the focus from basic digital training to sustainable employment aligned with infrastructure growth.

Nigeria’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Jumoke Oduwole, also spoke at the event, highlighting the improving investment climate in Nigeria’s digital economy.

Other participants included Haytham Elmaayergi, Wale Adeosun, Yvonne Ike, Bolaji Balogun, and Miguel Azevedo.

The roundtable also drew participation from organisations such as World Bank Group, Google, Nigerian Exchange Group, Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority, U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, and United Bank for Africa, among others.

Discussions at the forum reflected a broader shift in investor sentiment, with greater emphasis now placed on execution and scalability rather than narrative, as investors increasingly back platforms capable of delivering sustainable growth at scale.