In a significant move to tackle persistent financial inefficiencies, the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has launched a new payment platform designed to plug a massive annual shortfall in cross-border transactions. The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) Cowry was inaugurated as a critical tool to address the $5 billion yearly gap caused by slow, complex, and expensive payment systems across the continent.
A Continental Solution for a Costly Problem
Speaking at the platform's launch in Lagos, Haytham El Maayergi, Afreximbank's Executive Vice President for Global Trade Bank, outlined the severe impact of current systems. He stated that these multi-billion dollar losses are symptomatic of a broader issue where trade within Africa remains hampered by currency inefficiencies. This environment, he emphasised, directly obstructs the continent's pursuit of robust economic growth.
El Maayergi detailed the specific challenges: Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) find it difficult to secure reliable partners, access affordable financing, and get timely market information. Simultaneously, banks grapple with liquidity shortages, foreign-exchange pressures, and high cost premiums, which collectively constrain trade expansion.
More Than Technology: A Step Towards Integration
The executive vice president stressed that PAPSS Cowry represents a major leap towards a fully connected African market. The platform offers fast and secure settlements, which will minimise dependence on foreign currencies and make trade between African nations more affordable. He framed it as more than just a technological upgrade; it signifies a continent-wide effort to build a unified payment ecosystem capable of strengthening economic integration and propelling Africa's next growth chapter.
"Afreximbank, working with the AfCFTA Secretariat and the African Union, is laying the institutional foundation for a seamlessly integrated African market," El Maayergi noted. He added that this effort includes establishing long-term adjustment funds to create the enabling environment needed for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to thrive. He maintained that accessible and well-structured financing remains central to unlocking Africa's full economic transformation.
Owning Africa's Economic Future
Wamkele Mene, Secretary General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, echoed the sentiment, arguing that Africa's future competitiveness hinges on its capacity to build and operate its own technological and financial systems. He insisted the continent must develop the tools to manage its own payments and ensure sufficient internal liquidity for settlements.
Mene highlighted that conducting trade in local currencies can dramatically reduce the barriers that currently restrict intra-African commerce and weaken regional value chains. He commended the leadership of former Afreximbank President, Prof. Benedict Oramah, and the current President, Dr. George Elombi, for their pivotal role in advancing continental integration.
However, Mene acknowledged a persistent challenge: a deeply rooted mindset across many African societies that solutions must come from outside the continent. Platforms like PAPSS, he said, symbolise the determination to take ownership of Africa's economic destiny.
Reflecting on the historical context, Mike Ogbalu, Chief Executive Officer of PAPSS, traced the roots of Africa's fragmented trade landscape to the 1884 Berlin Conference, where Western powers partitioned the continent without regard for its people. This act, he pointed out, shattered communities and imposed borders that disrupted natural social, cultural, and economic ties, using the separation of groups across Nigeria, Benin, and Togo as an example.
