To scale globally, Africa’s next generation of high-growth enterprises must be backed by stronger financial infrastructure, deeper pools of capital, and closer alignment between governments and the private sector. That was the central message at a high-level executive roundtable hosted by Flutterwave, Africa’s leading payments technology company, in partnership with Invest Africa on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 81) in New York.
Held under the theme Africa Forward: Investing in the Next Decade of Growth, the closed-door session brought together African and global stakeholders to examine what it will take to unlock the continent’s next phase of growth.
Demonstrating strong public-private alignment, the roundtable brought together prominent government figures, including the Vice President of Nigeria, H.E. Kashim Shettima, ably represented by Senator Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia, Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, and Mr Taiwo Oyedele, Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy;
Addressing what it takes for African enterprises to scale regionally and globally, participants pointed to persistent barriers like fragmented regulation, scarce growth capital, and friction in cross-border money movement. Overcoming these hurdles requires tailored solutions for uneven infrastructure, talent availability, and diverse operating environments across markets.
The executive delegation also included Katsina State Governor Dikko Radda; Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu; and Amb. Lateef Kayode Are, Nigeria’s Ambassador to the United States. C-suite tech and multinational executives, institutional banking partners, and international private equity leaders were also present, representing organisations such as 500 Global, Absa Bank, Africa50, Africa Finance Corporation, Amazon, Chapel Hill Denham, Flour Mills of Nigeria, Goldman Sachs, Itana, and Resilience 17.
Highlighting the shift from processing transactions to building long-term digital infrastructure that makes long-term growth possible, Flutterwave Founder and CEO Olugbenga ‘GB’ Agboola stated, “In the last ten years, we’ve seen very strongly how African technology can work and scale. As we look toward the next ten years, the real opportunity lies in building the deep infrastructure that enables African businesses to operate, grow, and compete seamlessly across borders. This requires simplifying cross-border money movement, expanding liquidity and capital access, and creating trusted digital systems that enterprises can rely on as they expand.”
To turn this vision into execution, participants explored practical solutions including stablecoin rails, institutional banking utilities, shared fraud prevention networks, patient capital, and strategic public-private partnerships. The session concluded with a joint commitment from government and business leaders to focus on expanding cross-border infrastructure, mobilizing expansion capital, and building the financial rails necessary for African commerce to compete globally.
