On 16th January, members of AFI’s Competition Enablers Knowledge Exchange (CKX) held their first virtual meeting of 2025. 

The CKX, which is supported by the Gates Foundation and co-led by AFI and the UN Capital Development Fund, was launched in 2023 as a subgroup within AFI’s Digital Financial Services Working Group, to focus on competition issues. At the 16 January meeting, AFI’s Competition Policy Specialist Anthea Paelo presented on “Competition and Regulation of Mobile Money Platforms in Africa: A Comparative Analysis of Kenya and Uganda”, highlighting examples of anti-competitive conduct such as agent exclusivity, and high charges for interconnection and access to USSD. 

Clarence Blay from Bank of Ghana emphasized that active policies to engender competition and interoperability need to be in place, and that promoting competitive markets is a key part of the financial inclusion agenda. Bridget Mesina-Romero from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas commented that where there are multiple regulators, there needs to be a concerted effort around collaboration, and close monitoring to ensure unintended consequences are not created. 

UNCDF Policy Analyst Supraja Vadlamani briefed members on UNCDF’s current competition policy support initiatives, which include an upcoming knowledge visit to the Competition Authority of Kenya for a delegation from Uganda. 

AFI Head of Policy Management, Ghiyazuddin Mohammad, announced that a Member Training and Capacity Building event will take place in Peru from 15-18 of July, aiming to enhance participants’ understanding of how competition can affect efforts to increase access, usage and the quality of financial services. 

You can learn more about competition enablers in our recent interview with Ariadne Plaitakis from the Gates Foundation.