Mastercard recently participated in GITEX Nigeria 2026, a prominent event held in Abuja and Lagos from August 31 to September 3. The company brought together various perspectives on key topics such as interoperability, financial innovation, local capability, and cybersecurity. These discussions emphasized the essential building blocks required to establish a more connected, inclusive, and trusted digital economy in Africa. Mastercard executives examined the steps needed to transition Africa from digital adoption to greater participation, value creation, and economic opportunity.
During the event, Mastercard hosted key stakeholders at its exhibition booth, including the Deputy Governor of Lagos State and the U.S. Consul General. These engagements highlighted the growing importance of collaboration between the public and private sectors in building a more connected, inclusive, and trusted digital economy across Nigeria and Africa. Africa has made significant investments in digital identity, real-time payments, and digital government platforms. The next step is to connect these systems, enabling them to work together seamlessly rather than operating as separate digital services.
Kari Tukur, vice president, Core Payments, West Africa, at Mastercard, discussed the importance of designing identity, payments, and service delivery systems to work together from the outset. Tukur emphasized that interoperability is critical to creating seamless digital experiences for citizens and businesses. Mastercard's Community Pass illustrates how connected digital infrastructure can translate into economic participation. The platform connects underserved communities with financial institutions, governments, and service providers, helping farmers and small traders build digital profiles that support access to payments, markets, and financial tools.
Olusola Olakanmi, vice president, Account Management, and head of Sales, West Africa, at Mastercard, discussed the need for Africa to move from dependency to ownership in the digital space. Olakanmi emphasized that while global partnerships are essential for accelerating access to technology, infrastructure, and expertise, their long-term value should be measured by their ability to strengthen local capability, develop infrastructure, and create opportunities for African businesses to generate sustainable value. This approach includes capability transfer, engineering and cybersecurity skills, product development, local supplier participation, and stronger pathways for African businesses to create and retain value.
Unwana Esang, vice president, Service Business Development, at Mastercard, spoke about the importance of infrastructure, trust, and ecosystem collaboration in helping financial innovation achieve scale. The discussion explored how interoperable infrastructure enables new solutions to reach more people, businesses, and markets while supporting sustainable growth across the financial ecosystem. As banks, fintech companies, mobile-money operators, and emerging payment rails converge, interoperability can help reduce the cost and complexity of connecting different systems.
Mastercard's acceptance network across Africa grew by 45% in 2025, extending digital payment participation to consumers and merchants, including smaller and informal businesses. The company is supporting local capability and economic opportunity through its role as a technology partner, connecting local banks, fintechs, governments, merchants, and consumers to global capabilities. Additionally, Mastercard Move supports money movement across more than 200 countries and territories and more than 150 currencies, connecting bank accounts, cards, digital wallets, and cash endpoints.
Trust and cybersecurity are essential components of Africa's digital future, making resilience, fraud prevention, and consumer protection critical. Mastercard reinforced this focus through its cybersecurity workshop at GITEX Nigeria, which provided a practical look at the evolving cyber threat landscape and the importance of strengthening resilience as organizations adopt new technologies. Can Elbeyli, senior vice president, Security Solutions, EEMEA, at Mastercard, presented at the workshop, sharing insights on the changing threat environment, AI-driven risks, and the need for organizations to integrate cybersecurity, fraud prevention, and resilience into their broader transformation strategies.
Key points
- Mastercard emphasizes the importance of interoperability, financial innovation, and local capability in creating a more connected digital economy in Africa.
- The company's Community Pass platform connects underserved communities with financial institutions, governments, and service providers.
- Mastercard's acceptance network across Africa grew by 45% in 2025, extending digital payment participation to consumers and merchants.
