Industry stakeholders say high financing thresholds, currency volatility, fragmented regulations, and inefficient cross-border payment systems continue to constrain the growth of exporters and businesses on the continent.

They made the suggestions in Lagos, recently, during the 6th Africa Finance Festival 2026 gala. Hosted by InstinctWave and CFO Magazine, the event focused on digital finance, trade growth, innovation, and Africa’s economic future.

Held at the LagosOriental Hotel, the evening featured networking sessions, executive engagement, and award presentations recognising individuals and organisations shaping business growth across the continent.

Akin Naphtal, group CEO of InstinctWave, described the festival as a leading platform for finance leadership and economic dialogue in Africa.

“Over the course of the festival, we have had the privilege of hearing from outstanding keynote speakers, panelists, regulators, investors, and finance executives,” he said.

He added,

“Tonight, however, we gather for a different but equally important purpose: to celebrate excellence.”

He noted that the awards were created to honor institutions and professionals driving innovation, discipline, and impact across Africa’s finance sector.

Bernice Awube Armah-Ampofo, director of Finance at the Ghana Export Promotion Authority, highlighted barriers facing exporters and SMEs across Africa.

“Accessing trade finance is cumbersome, and the thresholds are quite high for SMEs,” she remarked, citing high capital costs, currency volatility, fragmented regulations, and weak cross-border payment systems as key challenges.

She urged stakeholders to leverage the fintech ecosystem to close gaps in trade finance and payments through stronger regional collaboration.

The event also reflected the growing role of digital payments in Africa’s financial system. GSMA data shows mobile money transactions reached over $2.3 trillion globally in 2025, with Sub-Saharan Africa accounting for about two-thirds of total value, driven by rapid adoption across markets.

The figures underline how mobile platforms continue to expand access to financial services and support discussions on cross-border trade and financial inclusion raised during the event.

Beyond the formal speeches, the event also created room for business networking and collaboration among attendees.

Guests participated in interactive networking sessions designed to encourage new industry connections before the award presentations later in the evening.

Sponsors including MTN Nigeria, Ghana Export Promotion Authority, and other participating organisations maintained strong visibility throughout the gala.

Closing the event, Naphtal said, “Our vision remains bold, to continue to build the Africa Finance Festival into one of Africa’s most influential platforms for finance leadership, policy dialogue, innovation, and economic transformation.”

At the event held on Saturday, September 17 in Lagos, 3R shared the stage with other leading players in the Nigerian ICT and telecoms space such as the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), IHS Nigeria, Africa Data Centre, Huawei Technologies, Open Access Data Centre, among others.

Now in its sixth year, TIA, formally known as Nigeria Tech Innovation & Telecom Awards (NTITA), has grown to be the ‘Oscars’ of Africa’s ICT industry attracting the crème de la crème and top decision-makers in the industry, recognized Nigeria’s Top 25 tech brands and personalities such as 3R Company who are promoting digital economy.

Speaking on the rationale for recognizing 3R Nigeria Limited, Mr. Akin Naphtal, the InstinctWave Chief Executive Officer, described the Company as a pioneer that bridges revenue reconciliation gap in the country’s telecoms sector.

He said, “As a leading provider of analytics solutions for Revenue Assurance and Fraud Management in the global telecommunication industry, the company provides direct visibility on all connected enterprise assets to bridge a critical gap in the telecoms sector. The recognition is well deserved and resonates with TIA’s mandates of rewarding innovation, creativity and excellence in the ICT and telecoms space.”

Receiving the award, Mr. Raymond Wodi, the Chief Executive Officer, 3R Nigeria Limited, commended the organisers of TIA for using the award as a reward mechanism to stimulate best practices and healthy competition for outstanding performances among players in the telecoms and ICT sector.

He said: “I am excited that 3R Nigeria Limited is found worthy of this honour as a recognition of our contribution to establishing an ecosystem where revenue assurance and fraud management become seamless through our world-class solutions. This particular award is dedicated to the entire 3R Nigeria Limited team, and our growing clientele across the private and public sectors, who never doubt our ability to meet their needs with our bespoke solutions.”

Mr. Wodi further said the award is also taken as a challenge for the 3R team to never rest on its oars but keep pushing through new frontiers and continue to widen its scope of solutions to meet emerging needs in the country.

3R focuses on building and operating a global fraud deterrent and management solution suite that will nip revenue leakages and revenue fraud in the bud in the global telecommunications, oil and gas and financials industries for government and business worldwide.

For instance, Nigeria’s telecoms regulatory agency, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), recently signed a Public Private Partnership (PPP) agreement with 3R Company Nigeria Limited as its consultant, for the execution of the Revenue Assurance Solutions (RAS) to strengthen and manage the integrity of revenue generation process in the Nigerian telecommunications industry.

Professor Umar Danbatta, the Executive Chairman of the NCC had expressed confidence in the company to execute the project to bolster the efforts of the Federal Government in increasing revenue generation, especially at a time when the resources at the disposal of the government are dwindling by the day.