Representatives from Chinese state organisations and its financial sector met with officials from several African countries to discuss investment and methods of expanding financial inclusion on the continent, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Speaking at the China-Africa Digital Financial Inclusion Summit 2019, held in Nairobi, Kenya, president of the Chinese Academy of Financial Inclusion Bei Duoguang said adoption of digital finance tools could help middle- and low-income countries “catch-up” with the rest of the world.

One of the main aims of the event was for Chinese policy makers to gain a deeper understanding of the status of financial inclusion in specific African countries to identify potential investment and business opportunities.

The Chinese ambassador to Kenya Zhao Xiyuan said the event would go a long way to define ways China and countries in Africa could collaborate on financial inclusion.

China is already a major investor into industries and infrastructure across Africa. In 2018 the country’s President Xi Jinping pledged it would pump a further $60 billion into the continent.

UK newspaper The Telegraph reported the cash from China will be broken down into $15 billion of grants and loans; $20 billion in credit lines; $10 billion in “development financing”; and $5 billion in buying imported goods from Africa.

The remainder will come from investment by private Chinese companies.