The Battle for Africa's Financial Rails: Stablecoins, Regulators, Cross Border Payments and Trade with Mimi Kufuor

Episode 227 with Mimi Kufuor, Global COO of KoinKoin, a digital assets exchange and financial infrastructure company focused on solving cross border liquidity and payment challenges across Africa and other emerging markets. Mimi oversees the company's global operations across multiple jurisdictions and works closely with regulators as digital asset frameworks continue to evolve. She also serves as a Strategic Advisor to the Chamber of Digital Assets and Blockchain Innovation in Ghana, contributing to policy development and industry alignment across the region.

In this episode, we explore how Africa's financial infrastructure is evolving and why digital assets are increasingly being viewed as more than just investment vehicles. Mimi shares her perspective on the structural challenges that continue to hinder cross border trade and payments across the continent, and explains how emerging technologies such as stablecoins are creating new possibilities for moving value more efficiently between African markets.

Drawing on KoinKoin's experience operating across multiple regulatory environments, Mimi discusses the realities of building compliant digital asset infrastructure while engaging directly with policymakers and regulators. She examines the opportunities created by Africa's evolving regulatory landscape, the challenges of balancing innovation with oversight, and the growing debate around the role of governments, central banks, and private operators in shaping the future of financial services.

What We Discuss With Mimi

• Why Africa may have a unique opportunity to build new financial infrastructure rather than retrofit legacy banking systems.
• How stablecoins and digital assets are evolving from speculative assets into critical infrastructure for payments, liquidity, and trade.
• The race to regulate digital assets across Africa and whether fragmented national frameworks are slowing innovation and growth.
• The tension between dollar denominated stablecoins and Africa's ambitions for monetary sovereignty and financial independence.
• What needs to happen before 2030 to unlock a truly borderless financial system that supports trade and investment across the continent.

Did you miss my previous episode where I discus The Untapped Trillion Dollar Opportunity in Africa’s Diaspora Economy? Make sure to check it out!

Connect with Terser:
LinkedIn – Terser Adamu
Instagram – unlockingafrica
Twitter (X) – @TerserAdamu

Connect with Mimi
LinkedIn – Mimi Kufuor and KoinKoin

Many of the businesses unlocking opportunities in Africa don’t do it alone. If you’d like strategic support on entering or expanding across African markets, reach out to our partners ETK Group:

www.etkgroup.co.uk
info@etkgroup.co.uk