LIVE FROM MWC21 AFRICA: Collaboration between cross-industry stakeholders provides the key to extending financial inclusion to those not currently part of the ecosystem, Mastercard group executive for merchants, acceptance and digital partnerships Amnah Ajmal (pictured) asserted.

Speaking at the company’s founder partner keynote session, Ajmal urged operators, financial technology companies, traditional financial institutions, retailers and technology players to partner to achieve wider inclusion in unbanked and underbanked communities.

She noted in today’s world of 5G and advanced technology the “barrier to switching industries is extremely low and diversifying into different types of services has a cumulative effect on the entire industry”.

“This cumulative effect means we can drive low-cost financial digital solutions at scale, but no-one can do this alone.”

She added the impact of creating networks of partners meant each party could create something greater than each part of the ecosystem could achieve alone.

The company already has a number of partnerships in place with operators and retailers in Africa targeted at expanding inclusion.