At the U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit on Wednesday, Visa Inc. announced plans to invest $1 billion over the next five years in Africa to take advantage of the region’s rising economy’s explosive growth in digital payments.
Dozens of African leaders are staying with U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington, D.C., for the three-day conference, which began on Tuesday.
CEO Alfred Kelly Jr. said in a statement that “Visa has been investing in Africa for several decades to create a truly local business.”
According to a McKinsey analysis published in September, the investments in Africa shed new light on a significant development opportunity on the continent where cash is anticipated to face competition from e-payments in the years to come.
According to the analysis, earnings from the burgeoning e-payments business in Africa are predicted to increase by about 20% annually, reaching around $40 billion by 2025, as opposed to about $200 billion in Latin America.
According to Andrew Torre, regional president of Visa for Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, “it’s one of our fastest growing regions,” said in an interview on Wednesday.
The largest payment processor in the world has increased its workforce on the continent by over 50% since the end of 2019, with the great bulk of those hires occurring during the pandemic, he continued.
According to the announcement, the investments will expand Visa’s operations in Africa and strengthen relationships with authorities, fintech companies, and businesses. The “strengthening of the payment ecosystem through new ideas and technology” will also benefit from it.
The business just launched Visa Acceptance Cloud, a platform that allows almost any device to function as a payment terminal.
