Last year was described as a breakthrough year for Africa as the region’s Inclusive Instant Payment Systems (IIPS) expanded. This was revealed by the AfricaNenda Foundation.

AfricaNenda Foundation, in its 2025 yearly report, showed record-speed national launches, bold continental policy action, and growing transaction volumes – demonstrating that interoperable, real-time payments are becoming a reality across Africa.

The Foundation, however, emphasised a central message: payments are not the end goal– they are the backbone of digital public infrastructure and a catalyst for economic growth.

It noted that approximately 400 million Africans remain unbanked across Africa, saying inclusive instant payment systems enable governments to deliver salaries and benefits faster, help small businesses transact securely, and empower women and rural communities to participate in the digital economy.

In the year under review, AfricaNenda supported seven IIPS implementation and improvement initiatives and helped bring two national systems live, proving that interoperable, real-time payment infrastructure can be deployed in months, not years.

These achievements reinforce a core message of the report: inclusive instant payments can be delivered faster and more cost-effectively than previously assumed when strong central bank leadership and coordinated partnerships are in place.

CEO of AfricaNenda Foundation, Dr Robert Ochola, said: “We have broken the myth that national payment systems must take three to four years to launch. In 2025, we moved decisively from preparation to execution. The technology works. The partnerships work. Local ownership is strong. And most importantly, the impact is real.”

AfricaNenda supported the rollout of Liberia’s mobile money-based instant payment system in just 73 days – one of the fastest national deployments on the continent. The system began with government-to-person salary payments, enabling public servants to receive wages in under a minute, and has since expanded to person-to-person transactions. Since launch, the platform has processed nearly one million transactions totalling more than $11 million, with zero downtime.

Deputy CEO of AfricaNenda, Akinwale Goodluck, said Liberia’s experience showed that speed and quality are not mutually exclusive. “When leadership and partnerships are aligned and execution is disciplined, transformation happens quickly,” he stated.

AfricaNenda supported the modernisation of eKash in Rwanda, scaling an open and inclusive model in the country – in collaboration with RSwitch, Rwanda’s National E-payment switch. The upgraded system transitioned to an open-source architecture designed for scalability and long- term independence. The enhanced platform now processes approximately 1.5 million transactions per month – a 40 per cent increase compared to 2024 – and includes microfinance institutions and savings cooperatives to extend access to underserved communities.

Beyond national implementations, AfricaNenda continued to strengthen the broader payments ecosystem through advocacy, research, and capacity building.

“Strong payment infrastructure is not just a financial sector priority; it is a development imperative,” said Ochola.

“When payments become instant, affordable and interoperable, economies move faster and inclusion becomes achievable.”