Universal adoption and effectiveapplication of digital technologies are expected tocharacterize economies of the future, shaping their abilityto succeed in the global marketplace and offer a betterquality of life for their citizens. Disruptive technologiesare already altering traditional business models andpathways to development, yielding significant gains,increased convenience, as well as supporting better accessto services for consumers. In 2016, the digital economy wasworth an estimated 11.5 trillion dollars worldwide,equivalent to 15.5 percent of global GDP. It is forecast toreach 25 percent in less than a decade, far outpacing thegrowth of the ‘traditional’ economy (Huawei and OxfordEconomics 2016). Mobile money is driving financialinclusion, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, with thenumber of accounts doubling to 21 percent between 2014-17.African e-commerce is also rapidly growing, at an estimatedannual rate of 40 percent. Over the past five years, therehas been a tenfold increase across the region in the supplyof new intermediaries such as incubators, accelerators, andtechnology hubs, amongst others, numbering more than 400across Africa today. The digital economy in Africa isexpected to grow to over 300 billion dollars by 2025(McKinsey 2013). Ghana has made substantial progress onfinancial inclusion, due in large part to growth in DFS.According to the World Bank’s Global Findex, the share ofGhanaian adults (over 15 years of age) with a formalfinancial account increased by 42 percent between 2014 and2015. As a result, nearly 6 in 10 adults had formal accessin 2017. With mobile account ownership increasing by nearly200 percent between 2014 and 2017, mobile money has becomethe preferred payment alternative to cash when measured interms of transaction volumes. In May 2018, the Bank of Ghanamandated that all mobile money providers connect to GHLink,with full interoperability between mobile money providersand banks introduced in December 2018.
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