BY Grace Zigah
Ghana’s financial inclusion drive must evolve beyond the basic ability to send, receive and store money, with greater emphasis on helping citizens save, invest, access credit, secure insurance and build sustainable financial futures, according to Abdul-Razak Issaka Ali, Chief Commercial Operations Officer of MobileMoney Fintech Limited (MMFL).
Razak said the country’s widespread adoption of mobile money has created a strong foundation for the next stage of digital financial services, but argued that the real opportunity now lies in turning access to digital wallets into meaningful and everyday financial value for customers.
He made the remarks at the launch of MTN Ghana’s 2026 DigiFest, at MTN House in Accra on September 7, 2026, where he outlined what he described as the next frontier for digital finance and financial inclusion in Ghana.
According to Razak, MoMo was initially developed in response to a fundamental customer need—to make the movement of money easier while extending financial services to more Ghanaians. However, as mobile money adoption has expanded, he said the industry must now focus on enabling customers to use their digital access for a wider range of financial needs.
“MoMo was created to meet a customer need: to make it easier to move money and extend financial inclusion to every Ghanaian. The opportunity now is to help customers do much more with that access,” he said.
Razak observed that a significant number of customers continue to use their mobile money wallets primarily for transfers and storing funds. He believes this leaves considerable room for the digital finance ecosystem to expand access to products such as savings, loans, investments, insurance and pensions.
He stressed that financial inclusion should not be measured only by the number of people who can conduct digital transactions. Rather, he said, it should ultimately empower individuals to manage financial risks, prepare for the future and take advantage of economic opportunities.
Razak, however, cautioned that the transition towards a more cash-lite economy cannot be achieved by mobile money operators acting alone. He called for stronger collaboration among mobile money companies, commercial banks, insurance companies, pension providers, fintech firms, regulators and other participants within the financial-services ecosystem.
He explained that MMFL’s platform-based approach is intended to provide an avenue for different partners to make a broader range of financial products accessible to customers. Through the MoMo App, customers can discover, access and manage several financial and lifestyle services from a single digital platform.
The Chief Commercial Operations Officer also highlighted the growing role of technology in shaping the future of financial services. He pointed to artificial intelligence (AI) and application programming interfaces (APIs) as important tools that could help financial institutions personalise products, connect different services more efficiently and respond more quickly to customer needs.
