Annual CEO Roundtable

In July, the fifth edition of Mobile 360 Africa took place under the theme of ‘Forging a Better Future for African Citizens’ which focused on two key drivers of digital adoption: the people and the technology. We hosted our annual CEO Roundtable in collaboration with B-Team Africa on 17th July 2018 where we engaged on three main topics:

1. Evidence and challenges of tax systems in Africa

2. Responsible tax principles framework
3. Access to mobile money and its role in fostering payments to government

Attending CEOs requested the GSMA to share the suggestions proposed with the Sub-Sahara Africa Policy Group members to drive the initiatives into actionable items. I am reaching out to you to seek a CEO volunteer who will provide oversight and strategic direction through a high-level working group that will be set up to drive actions for successful engagements with government stakeholders, to continue advocating for digital Payment to Government (P2G) and Business to Government (B2G) payments through central e-Government platforms. The objective is aimed at widening the taxable bracket and alleviating fiscal pressure within the industry.

During our July in-country engagements in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the sector is under a high fiscal burden, the GSMA engaged with a cross-section of stakeholders around mobile taxation in the context of fiscal reform. All stakeholders showed genuine interest in the P2G payment solution. We are therefore advising all our DRC members to take advantage of this window of opportunity and make concrete propositions to launch P2G payments.