The financial giant Visa is making a groundbreaking $1 billion investment into Africa’s overall economy by pledging $1 billion.
While at President Biden’s three-day U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit on Wednesday, Visa announced its pledge to invest $1 billion into Africa over the next five years to capitalize on the continent’s rapid growth in digital payments, Reuters reports.
“Visa has been investing in Africa for several decades to grow a truly local business,” Visa CEO Alfred Kelly Jr said in a statement.
“Every day, Visa supports digital commerce and money movement in every country across the continent, and Africa remains central to Visa’s long-term growth plans.”
Kelly continued. “We look forward to continuing to work closely with our partners to advance the financial ecosystem, accelerate digitization and to build resilient, innovative, and inclusive economies that will create shared opportunity and further spur Africa’s digital economy.”
According to a McKinsey report released in September, Africa’s thriving e-payments market is expected to grow by nearly 20% a year, reaching around $40 billion by 2025.
“It’s one of our fastest growing regions,” Andrew Torre, Visa’s regional president for central and eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa said.
Visa has hired over 50% more employees in Africa since the end of 2019. The plan is for the investment to scale Visa’s operations in Africa and deepen ties with the continent’s governments, fintechs, and merchants.
It will also help “strengthen the payment ecosystem through new innovations and technologies”.
“Over the past year,
Visa has continued growing our investment in Africa through new offices, new innovations and solutions, and programs that are directly supporting financial inclusion,” Aida Diarra, the senior vice president of Visa Sub-Saharan Africa said. “The investment pledge outlines our long-term commitment to Africa and the work we will do to help advance the financial ecosystem.”