Panafrican mobile money infrastructure driving Côte d’Ivoire’s fintech growth

PawaPay’s Ismaël Kouassi on bridging Africa’s mobile money economy to businesses

Ismaël Kouassi, Côte d’Ivoire director at PawaPay: We act as a gateway enabling African businesses to tap into the mobile money economy

As Côte d’Ivoire director for PawaPay, a leading African fintech specializing in mobile money infrastructure, Ismaël Kouassi explains how the company serves as a technological bridge. Businesses, banks, and SMEs gain access to multiple payment ecosystems through a single integration. The core mission involves streamlining payments, fund transfers, transaction tracking, and financial flow management.

The West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) region, spearheaded by Côte d’Ivoire, stands out as Africa’s most dynamic digital payments hub. Driven by widespread mobile money adoption, modern infrastructures like the BCEAO’s interoperable PI-SPI platform, and a rapidly evolving financial landscape, the area attracts fintech innovators. Kouassi highlights that the synergy between traditional banking and mobile money will fuel financial growth in coming years, particularly benefiting SMEs. Enhanced digital integration will unlock expanded financial services for these enterprises.

Understanding PawaPay’s infrastructure role in Africa

What exactly does PawaPay offer as a payment infrastructure provider? Where do our responsibilities end, and where do those of mobile money operators, banks, payment processors, and e-wallet issuers begin?

Think of PawaPay as a universal connector to Africa’s mobile money economy. Mobile money has evolved from an emerging payment method to a cornerstone of African commerce. Recent data reveals over $2 trillion in mobile money transactions globally in 2025 — doubling in just four years. This transformation underscores mobile money’s essential role in African business.

Our primary function is enabling businesses to access this ecosystem through a single integration.

Consider practical applications: a money transfer company can push funds to mobile wallets, an internet provider can collect subscriptions, urban mobility platforms can pay drivers, and digital businesses can serve customers across multiple African markets. We provide the technological layer that orchestrates payments, fund transfers, transaction monitoring, cash flow management, and reconciliation. Mobile money operators retain responsibility for customer accounts and electronic money issuance. Banks handle core banking services and fund custody. Regulators ensure market integrity and supervision. While mobile money forms part of Africa’s commercial infrastructure, our mission is to simplify access across multiple markets.

Strategic market selection for African expansion

With operations already active in 20 African markets, what guided the initial market selection, and what criteria determine current expansion priorities?

Our early focus targeted markets where mobile money already plays a significant role in daily economic activity. Africa boasts some of the world’s most advanced digital payment ecosystems, and we positioned ourselves where businesses were already prioritizing mobile money customer engagement. Today, three key factors drive our development:

• Customer demand: We closely monitor markets where our clients expand and seek new consumers. Multinational operators like Bolt, Yango, LemFi, and GiveDirectly influence our expansion priorities as they grow their African footprint.
• Local ecosystem strength: We prioritize markets where mobile money, digital commerce, and financial services increasingly drive economic activity.
• Long-term partnership potential: Quality infrastructure requires years to build. Trust relationships with operators, financial institutions, and ecosystem players are crucial. Our goal isn’t merely country expansion but creating a cohesive coverage that enables businesses to operate continent-wide.

Why Côte d’Ivoire and UEMOA stand out for fintech infrastructure

Why does this West African region represent such an attractive market for a pan-African payment infrastructure? What specific elements make it unique?

West Africa — particularly the UEMOA zone — has already emerged as Africa’s digital payment leader. The region processed nearly $500 billion in mobile money transactions in 2025, with over 517 million registered mobile money accounts, making it the world’s most active mobile money market by operational services.

Côte d’Ivoire holds strategic importance within this landscape. As UEMOA’s largest economy, a primary financial hub, and a market with over 28 million registered and 13 million active mobile money accounts, it represents an ideal gateway for regional fintech growth.

The region’s commitment to financial infrastructure investment sets it apart. The BCEAO’s interoperable instant payment platform (PI-SPI), launched in April 2026 with over 80 connected institutions including banks, electronic money institutions, and microfinance bodies, exemplifies this forward-thinking approach. For businesses and financial institutions alike, payment infrastructure quality directly determines economic participation capacity. For pan-African players like PawaPay, this creates substantial advantages. Regulatory decisions or partnerships established in Côte d’Ivoire can potentially impact multiple regional markets. The depth of the banking sector, mobile money adoption rates, entrepreneurial dynamism, and Abidjan’s position as a regional economic center further enhance its appeal.

Transforming francophone African banking through mobile money integration

What real benefits do francophone West African banks gain from partnering with payment infrastructures like PawaPay — beyond technical mobile money access? How does this impact customer acquisition, service costs, liquidity management, compliance, fraud prevention, and SME offerings?

First, banks and payment infrastructures are complementary rather than competitive. Banks remain central to settlement, liquidity management, compliance, customer relationships, and financial services. What’s changing is the expanding role of mobile money in daily economic life.

According to GSMA data, bank-to-mobile wallet transfers reached approximately $167 billion in 2025, with similar volumes flowing in the opposite direction.

The future isn’t “bank or mobile money” but “bank and mobile money.” An infrastructure like PawaPay enables banks to access multiple payment ecosystems through a single connection, improving cash flow visibility, streamlining treasury management, and expanding client service capabilities. This is particularly valuable for SMEs, many of which already collect payments via mobile money. Banks that integrate these flows into their service offerings can deliver greater value to growing businesses.

Mobile money’s next growth frontier: 5-year outlook

Which segments will drive mobile money’s evolution over the next five years? Will merchant payments, bulk disbursements, government payments, e-commerce, B2B transactions, savings-credit products, or cross-border usage lead the charge?

Today’s most compelling development is that growth is emerging simultaneously across multiple segments. Consumer adoption is already well-established in many markets.

In UEMOA, financial inclusion rates rose from 56% to 71% between 2018 and 2022, primarily driven by digital financial services and mobile money.

Merchant payments exemplify this momentum. Transaction volumes grew over 40% in 2025, making this one of the ecosystem’s most dynamic segments. This reflects a deeper reality: mobile money is becoming an everyday commerce tool. We observe this across digital services, internet subscriptions, transportation, education, retail, and numerous other sectors. Cross-border payments will continue growing as African businesses expand regionally. Mobile money is no longer a niche product but an essential commerce infrastructure.

Regional regulatory cooperation: Ghana-Rwanda license recognition as a model

The mutual recognition agreement between Ghana and Rwanda signals progress in African cross-border payments. What does this reveal about evolving regulatory cooperation across African jurisdictions? Is this a scalable precedent or a highly specific advancement under particular conditions?

This agreement reflects a fundamental trend gaining momentum across the continent. African regulators recognize that commerce, investment, and digital economies are becoming increasingly integrated. Regulatory cooperation can support economic growth while maintaining necessary safeguards. The Ghana-Rwanda pact and UEMOA’s harmonized framework represent different approaches to the same reality: economic activity now transcends national borders. While no single model will suit all contexts, the growing willingness to collaborate, share experiences, and build common frameworks represents positive progress for African commerce and investment. Ultimately, Africa will require more mutual recognition mechanisms and regulatory harmonization to support cross-border payment growth.

Ultimately, Africa will require more mutual recognition mechanisms and regulatory harmonization to support cross-border payment growth.

Building Africa’s interoperable payment network: realistic trajectory

Many stakeholders envision a seamless, interoperable African payment network. What realistic path exists toward this goal, and what prerequisites must be prioritized?

The encouraging news is that the foundational elements already exist. Mobile money adoption is strong. Financial institutions continue investing in digital infrastructure. Initiatives like PAPSS, PI-SPI, and several regional interoperability programs demonstrate shared ambitions to enhance connectivity. The next phase requires deeper collaboration between operators, banks, infrastructure providers, and regulators.

The objective must extend beyond faster payments to support trade, exchanges, and economic participation across the continent.

When businesses can more easily serve customers across multiple countries, consumers gain more options, and financial institutions access larger regional markets, the entire ecosystem benefits. However, technology alone won’t suffice. Addressing currency management, compliance, fraud prevention, and payment network governance will be equally critical.

PawaPay’s value proposition for Côte d’Ivoire’s fintech hub

What role can payment infrastructure companies like PawaPay play in supporting Côte d’Ivoire’s regional hub ambitions? Where can we create the most value?

Our mission is to eliminate friction. Expanding across African markets presents significant technical, regulatory, and operational complexities for businesses. An infrastructure like PawaPay simplifies this expansion process.

We enable businesses, banks, and fintechs to access multiple markets through a single platform.

For a regional hub like Côte d’Ivoire, this translates to increased investment, innovation, and companies capable of operating at regional and even continental scale. Our greatest value lies in accelerating fund circulation, service delivery, and economic opportunities across the continent. The next chapter of African financial development won’t be solely digital — it will be fundamentally pan-African in scope.