What to Know About Africa’s new online foreign exchange system
AFRICA INC. – Rising economies, start-ups, and Black wealth, etc. The high cost of making cross border payments on the African continent has driven governments on the continent to seek options of settling trade and other transactions in local currencies. This has given birth to the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System which is scheduled to go live in 2024 under Kenya’s leadership. Development economist Christopher Adam, who has studied the exchange rate policies of African countries, answers some key questions. Why are African countries exposed in the international currency market? Three main reasons. First, African economies are small and as such are highly dependent on trade with the rest of the world. Their exports are dominated by primary commodities including oil and gas, minerals and cash crop agriculture.