Some 15 years after the launch of the world’s first significant mobile banking propositions, Africa is once again at the forefront of a new digital finance wave, in the form of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). In October 2021, Nigeria became the first major country in the world to launch a CBDC, branded as the eNaira. Several other countries across the continent, including Ghana, South Africa, Zambia, Tanzania and Kenya, have announced plans for similar schemes.
CBDCs are in many ways a natural extension of the dramatic growth of mobile banking and payment providers across Africa since the early 2000s. Central banks across the continent are hoping that officially sanctioned digital currencies such as the eNaira will improve access to financial services among the unbanked, reduce the reliance on physical cash and decrease the cost of cross-border transactions, especially in the all-important area of remittances.
