Ismaël Kouassi, Côte d’Ivoire director of PawaPay: “We are a facilitator that helps companies plug into Africa’s mobile money economy.”
Ismaël Kouassi, Côte d’Ivoire director of PawaPay, a fintech company specialising in mobile money solutions across Africa, explains in this interview that the firm positions itself as a technological bridge. It lets businesses, banks, and SMEs connect to multiple payment ecosystems through a single integration. He says its role is to simplify payments, disbursements, transaction tracking, and cash flow management.
According to him, Côte d’Ivoire and the entire UEMOA region are now among Africa’s most dynamic zones for digital payments. Driven by strong mobile money adoption, modern infrastructure such as the BCEAO’s interoperable platform PI-SPI, and a rapidly evolving financial landscape, the area has become a genuine hub for fintech players. Ismaël Kouassi also believes that the complementary relationship between banks and mobile money will be a key driver of financial growth in the coming years, especially for SMEs, which will gain access to more financial services through better integration of digital flows. With this vision, 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 offering a single integration, a unified dashboard, and consolidated cash management across about 20 African countries. What does this infrastructure role actually involve? Where do your responsibilities end and those of mobile money operators, banks, payment processors, or 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 continent’s most critical financial infrastructures. According to the GSMA, over $2 trillion moved through mobile money services worldwide in 2025—a doubling of transaction value in just four years. This shows we are no longer talking about an emerging payment method but a core component of African commerce.
Our job is to let companies access this ecosystem via a single integration.
That might mean enabling a money transfer firm to send funds to mobile wallets, helping an internet provider collect subscriptions, supporting a ride-hailing platform in paying its drivers, or allowing digital companies to serve customers across several 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 e-money issuance. Banks handle banking services and fund custody. Regulators ensure market integrity and oversight. Mobile money is one of the infrastructures powering African trade; our mission is to make it easy for businesses to access it across multiple markets.
PawaPay already operates in 20 African markets. What was the logic behind your initial target markets, and what criteria guide your expansion today?
From the start, we focused on 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 reach customers via mobile money. Today, three factors drive our growth. First, customer demand. We closely follow where our clients are expanding and want to reach new consumers. Companies like Bolt, Yango, LemFi, and GiveDirectly operate across multiple countries, and their needs naturally shape our priorities. Second, the strength of the local payment ecosystem.
We prioritise markets where mobile money, digital commerce, and financial services play 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 allows businesses to operate continent-wide.
Côte d’Ivoire and the wider UEMOA are often seen as a future regional fintech and finance hub. What makes this area particularly attractive for a pan-African payment infrastructure? What elements really set it apart?
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 that, Côte d’Ivoire holds a strategic position. It is the largest economy in UEMOA, one of the region’s leading financial centres, and a market with over 28 million registered mobile money accounts and more than 13 million active ones.
What is especially notable is the deliberate investment in regional financial infrastructure. The BCEAO’s interoperable instant payment platform PI-SPI is a prime example. By April 2026, over 80 institutions were already connected, including banks, e-money institutions, and microfinance organisations. For businesses and financial institutions alike, the quality of payment infrastructure directly determines their ability to participate in economic activity. For a pan-African infrastructure like PawaPay, that 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 centre also make a difference.
When a bank in francophone Africa partners with a payment infrastructure like PawaPay, what real benefits does it see beyond technical mobile money access? How can this affect customer acquisition, cost of service, liquidity management, compliance, fraud prevention, or SME offerings?
The first thing to stress 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, however, is the scale mobile money has taken in everyday economics.
According to the GSMA, transfers between bank accounts and mobile wallets reached about $167 billion in 2025.
Flows in the opposite direction are at comparable levels. The future is not “bank or mobile money” but “bank and mobile money.” An infrastructure like PawaPay enables banks to access multiple payment ecosystems through a single connection, improving visibility on flows, easing cash management, and broadening their ability to serve clients. This is especially relevant for SMEs. Many already collect payments via mobile money. Banks that can integrate those flows into their financial service offering can provide more value to these growing businesses.
How do you see the evolution of the mobile money ecosystem over the next five years? Will the growth drivers be merchant payments, mass disbursements, government payments, e-commerce, B2B, savings and credit, or cross-border use?
One of the most interesting trends today is that growth is coming from multiple segments simultaneously. Consumer adoption is already well established in many markets.
In UEMOA, financial inclusion rose from 56% to 71% between 2018 and 2022, mainly thanks to digital financial services and mobile money.
Merchant payments are a perfect example of this dynamic. According to studies, their volume grew by more than 40% in 2025, making it one of the fastest-growing segments in the ecosystem. This shift reflects a deeper reality: mobile money is becoming a daily commerce tool. We see it in digital services, internet subscriptions, transport, education, retail, and many other sectors. Cross-border payments will also continue to increase as African companies 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 licences agreement between Ghana and Rwanda was seen as a significant sign for cross-border payments in Africa. What does it reveal about the evolution of regulatory cooperation between African jurisdictions? Is it a replicable precedent on a large scale or still a very specific advance under certain conditions?
I think it reflects a growing trend across the continent. African regulators recognise that trade, investment, and the digital economy are becoming increasingly integrated, and that regulatory cooperation can support economic growth while maintaining necessary safeguards. The Ghana-Rwanda agreement is one example. UEMOA’s harmonised framework is another. The approaches differ, but they all point to the same reality: economic activity now far exceeds national borders. There will probably not be a one-size-fits-all model, 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 harmonisation to support cross-border payment growth.
Ultimately, Africa will need more mutual recognition mechanisms and regulatory harmonisation to support cross-border payment growth.
Many actors talk about a future seamless, interoperable African payment network. What is the realistic trajectory towards that goal? What prerequisites must be met first?
The encouraging part is that the main foundations are already in place. Mobile money adoption is strong. Financial institutions continue to invest in digital infrastructure. Initiatives like PAPSS, PI-SPI, and several regional interoperability programmes show a shared ambition to enhance connectivity. The next step relies on greater collaboration among operators, banks, infrastructure providers, and regulators. The goal should not be simply to speed up payments.
The aim must be to support commerce, trade, and economic participation across the continent.
When businesses can serve customers in multiple countries more easily, when consumers have more options, and when financial institutions access a larger regional market, the whole ecosystem benefits. But technology alone will not suffice. Issues around currency management, compliance, fraud prevention, and payment network governance must also be addressed.
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. Every time 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 reach multiple markets through a single platform.
For a regional hub like Côte d’Ivoire, that means more investment, more innovation, and more companies capable of operating regionally and even continentally. The greatest value we can create is accelerating the flow of funds, services, and economic opportunities across the continent. In our view, the next phase of African financial development will not only be digital; it will also be deeply pan-African.
