PawaPay’s Ismaël Kouassi on bridging Africa’s mobile money economy

Ismaël Kouassi, PawaPay’s director for Côte d’Ivoire: A facilitator that connects businesses to Africa’s mobile money economy

Ismaël Kouassi, Côte d’Ivoire director for PawaPay, a fintech focused on mobile money solutions across Africa, explains in this interview that the company acts as a technology enabler. It allows banks, businesses and SMEs to connect to multiple payment ecosystems through a single integration. His role, he says, is to simplify payments, disbursements, transaction tracking and cash flow management.

According to him, Côte d’Ivoire and the entire UEMOA region are among the most dynamic zones in Africa for digital payments today. Driven by rapid mobile money adoption, modern infrastructure like the BCEAO’s PI-SPI interoperable platform, and a shifting financial landscape, the region is establishing itself as a true fintech hub. Kouassi also believes the complementarity between banks and mobile money will be a key driver of financial growth in the coming years, particularly benefiting SMEs. With better integration of digital flows, small businesses will gain access to more financial services. In this context, PawaPay aims to continue lowering technical and operational barriers to accelerate trade, investment and economic integration across the continent.

You describe PawaPay as a payment infrastructure company that offers a single integration, a unified dashboard and consolidated treasury across about twenty African countries. What exactly does this infrastructure role entail? Where do your responsibilities end and those of mobile money operators, banks, payment processors and e-wallet issuers begin?

The simplest way to understand PawaPay is to see us as a facilitator that connects businesses to Africa’s mobile money economy. Mobile money is now one of the most important financial infrastructures on the continent. GSMA reports that over $2 trillion transited through mobile money services globally in 2025, doubling transaction value in just four years. This shows mobile money is no longer an emerging payment method but a core component of African commerce.

Our role is to let businesses access this ecosystem through a single integration.

That could mean helping a money transfer company send funds to mobile wallets, assisting an internet provider in collecting subscriptions, supporting an urban mobility platform in paying its drivers, or enabling digital businesses to serve customers across multiple African markets. We provide the technology layer that orchestrates payments, disbursements, transaction tracking, flow management and reconciliation. Mobile money operators remain responsible for customer accounts and issuing e-money. Banks handle banking services and fund custody. Regulators ensure market integrity and oversight. If mobile money is a key infrastructure fueling African commerce, our mission is to make it easy for businesses to access it across many markets.

PawaPay already operates in 20 African markets. What logic guided your initial market selection, and what criteria drive your expansion today?

From the start, we targeted markets where mobile money already played a significant role in daily economic activity. Africa has developed some of the world’s most advanced digital payment ecosystems, and we wanted to be where businesses were already seeking to connect with their customers through mobile money. Three factors guide our expansion today. First is customer demand. We closely follow markets where our clients expand and want to reach new consumers. Companies like Bolt, Yango, LemFi and GiveDirectly operate across several countries, and their needs naturally shape our priorities. Second is the strength of the local payments ecosystem.

We favor markets where mobile money, digital commerce and financial services are playing an increasing role in the economy.

Finally, we place great importance on long-term partnership potential. Infrastructure is built over years. Trusting relationships with operators, financial institutions and ecosystem players are essential. The goal is not simply to add countries but to build a coherent coverage that lets businesses operate continent-wide.

Côte d’Ivoire and the broader UEMOA are often presented as a future regional fintech and finance hub. What makes this zone particularly attractive for a pan-African payment infrastructure? Which factors really stand out?

I would say UEMOA is already one of Africa’s most important regions for digital payments. West Africa processed nearly $500 billion in mobile money transactions in 2025 and has over 517 million registered mobile money accounts, making it the world’s most active region in terms of operational services.

Within this, Côte d’Ivoire holds a strategic position. It is UEMOA’s largest economy, one of the region’s main financial centers, and a market with over 28 million registered mobile money accounts and more than 13 million active accounts.

What is particularly remarkable is the deliberate investment in regional financial infrastructure. The BCEAO’s PI-SPI interoperable instant payment platform is an excellent example. By April 2026, over 80 institutions were already connected, including banks, e-money institutions and microfinance institutions. For businesses and financial institutions, payment infrastructure quality directly determines their ability to participate in economic activity. For a pan-African infrastructure like PawaPay, this is a huge advantage. A regulatory decision or partnership developed in Côte d’Ivoire can potentially impact several countries in the region. The depth of the banking sector, high mobile money adoption, entrepreneurial dynamism and Abidjan’s geographic position as a regional economic hub also make a difference.

When a francophone African bank partners with a payment infrastructure like PawaPay, what real benefits does it see beyond technical access to mobile payments? How does this affect customer acquisition, service cost, liquidity management, compliance, fraud prevention or SME offerings?

The first thing to emphasize is that banks and payment infrastructures are complementary. Banks remain at the core of settlement, liquidity management, compliance, customer relationships and financial services. That does not change. What is evolving is the scale of mobile money in the daily economy.

GSMA data show that transfers between bank accounts and mobile wallets reached approximately $167 billion in 2025.

Flows in the opposite direction are comparable. The future is not “bank or mobile money” but “bank and mobile money.” An infrastructure like PawaPay lets banks access multiple payment ecosystems through a single connection, improving flow visibility, cash management and their capacity to serve clients. This is especially relevant for SMEs. Many already collect payments via mobile money. Banks that integrate these flows into their financial service offerings can provide greater value to these growing businesses.

How do you see the mobile money ecosystem evolving over the next five years? Will growth drivers be merchant payments, mass disbursements, government payments, e-commerce, B2B, savings and credit, or cross-border uses?

One of the most interesting phenomena today is that growth is coming from multiple segments simultaneously. Consumer adoption is already well established in many markets.

In UEMOA, the financial inclusion rate rose from 56% to 71% between 2018 and 2022, primarily thanks to digital financial services and mobile money.

Merchant payments illustrate this dynamic perfectly. According to studies, their volume grew more than 40% in 2025, making this segment one of the most dynamic in the ecosystem. This shift reflects a deeper reality: mobile money is gradually becoming an everyday commerce tool. We see it in digital services, internet subscriptions, transportation, education, retail and many other sectors. Cross-border payments will also continue to grow as African businesses operate across multiple markets. Mobile money is no longer a niche product; it has become an essential infrastructure for African commerce.

The mutual recognition of licenses agreement between Ghana and Rwanda was seen as an important signal for cross-border payments in Africa. What does it reveal about regulatory cooperation among African jurisdictions? Is it a scalable precedent or still a specific advance under certain conditions?

I think it reflects a fundamental trend that is increasingly visible across the continent. African regulators recognize that trade, investment and the digital economy are becoming more integrated, and that regulatory cooperation can support economic growth while maintaining necessary safeguards. The Ghana-Rwanda agreement is one example. UEMOA’s harmonized framework is another. The approaches differ, but they point to the same reality: economic activity now far exceeds national borders. There likely won’t be a single model that fits everywhere, but the growing willingness to collaborate, share experiences and build common frameworks is a very positive development for African trade and investment. Ultimately, Africa will need more mutual recognition mechanisms and regulatory harmonization to support cross-border payments growth.

Ultimately, Africa will need more mutual recognition mechanisms and regulatory harmonization to support cross-border payments growth.  

Many actors talk about a future seamless and interoperable African payments network. What is a realistic trajectory toward that goal? Which prerequisites must be addressed first?

The encouraging aspect is that the main foundations already exist. Mobile money adoption is strong. Financial institutions continue to invest in digital infrastructure. Initiatives like PAPSS, PI-SPI and several regional interoperability programs show a shared ambition to strengthen connectivity. The next step relies on greater collaboration among operators, banks, infrastructure providers and regulators. The goal should not be solely to accelerate payments.

The goal must be to support commerce, exchange and economic participation across the continent.

When businesses can more easily serve customers in several countries, when consumers have more options and financial institutions access a larger regional market, the entire ecosystem benefits. But technology alone will not suffice. Issues around currency management, compliance, fraud prevention and payment network governance will also need to be resolved.

What role can infrastructure companies like PawaPay play in supporting the growth of a regional hub like Côte d’Ivoire? Where can you create the most value?

Our role is to reduce friction. Whenever a business wants to expand into multiple African markets, it faces significant technical, regulatory and operational complexity. An infrastructure like PawaPay simplifies that expansion.

We help businesses, banks and fintechs quickly access several markets via a single platform.

For a regional hub like Côte d’Ivoire, this means more investment, more innovation and more companies capable of operating at a regional and even continental scale. The greatest value we can create is to accelerate the circulation of funds, services and economic opportunities across the continent. In our view, the next chapter of Africa’s financial development will be not only digital but also deeply pan-African.