Tochukwu Egesi | So, what happens when money moves?

People often ask me: ‘What are payment systems actually?’ And more importantly, what's the human role in all this technology?

It's a good question. Because behind all the talk of infrastructure and interoperability, something simpler is happening: people trying to send money to family, businesses trying to pay suppliers, governments trying to reach citizens. Making that work is what gets me out of bed in the morning.

As someone who spends my days working with central banks across Africa, here's what that looks like in practice, and why I think it matters more than ever.

Who we are

I'm part of Genesis and we partner with central banks across Africa to build and improve the systems that let people and businesses send and receive money electronically. From Ethiopia to Rwanda, that means supporting teams on the ground, from figuring out what's already working, to helping shape a strategy, to managing the rollout of new financial infrastructure.

What we do

In Ethiopia, we worked with the central bank to evaluate their first National Digital Payments Strategy and helped develop the next five-year plan. In Rwanda, we supported the review of their existing payment strategy and drafted the new one for 2025–2030. 

We have also started work on Burundi's first-ever payments strategy, and we'll soon begin in Uganda. Each plan includes a practical roadmap with clear goals and a simple tracking tool, so progress can be followed along the way, not just at the end.

In Liberia, we are helping to oversee the design and rollout of a new national payment switch, a piece of infrastructure that, for the first time, connects government payments, banks, mobile money operators, and fintechs into a single system.

Across all this work, we try to keep things collaborative and grounded. The goal is strategies that are not only technically sound but also actually work in the real world.

Why it matters

National payment strategies are really about connecting people. In places where many are still unbanked or underserved, a good strategy creates a roadmap for bringing everyone, citizens, government, banks, fintechs, and mobile money operators, into a shared system.

Ethiopia's new strategy focuses on making payments more interoperable and trustworthy. Rwanda is working toward becoming a cashless, financially inclusive economy. And in Liberia, the new payment switch is helping close gaps that have been there for years.

For me, this work is about more than infrastructure. It's about making it easier for people to save, send, and receive money, and helping build systems that support broader change.

Let's connect

If you're curious about any of this - or just want to chat - feel free to reply or grab time on my calendar. Always happy to talk.