Ecobank Group has announced a pilot launch of its Pan-African Banking Sandbox that will allow partners and fintechs across 33 African countries gain access to its Application Programming Interface (API) to develop innovative financial solutions. Ecobank is trying to show its commitment to working with fintechs across Africa to bring more innovation in Africa’s banking sector with this new launch.
In a statement by Ecobank’s Group CEO, Ade Ayeyemi he talked about how Ecobank believes the digital banking is the future:
“The sandbox is yet another indication that Ecobank firmly believes that digital banking is the future and the future is now. Hence our commitment to lead Africa into the new age of banking.” Along with Senior Fintech Advisor, Djiba Diallo, who also believes that the sandbox will be an avenue for collaboration between Ecobank and fintechs and could further develop the fintech ecosystem in Africa.
As regards to the sandboxes, they could be used to close the ever-increasing divide between fast-paced innovation and slow-moving regulations. Other African countries like Kenya, Mauritius and Sierra Leone already have some form a regulatory sandbox and while Nigeria is soon to launch one.
Ecobank’s initiative, if successful, will cut across the 33 African countries where it has branches and could be a gamechanger for Africa’s financial sector.
Flutterwave (Nigeria), Africa’s Talking (Kenya), Callme2Work (Kenya), and Esicia ltd (Rwanda) are fintech startups who have selected for the pilot launch:
Flutterwave (Nigeria): A leader in payments in Africa, providing reliable payments solutions for businesses globally.
Africa’s Talking (Kenya): A unified API platform for software developers in Africa building SMS, USSD, Voice, Payments and Airtime applications.
Callme2Work (Kenya): A one stop platform connecting specialists across a wide range of expertise to clients â— Esicia Ltd (Rwanda): A software development and system integration provider – digitizing business processes for institutions across the public and private sectors.
