MonetaGo CEO Neil Shonhard on enabling African SMEs via digital trade finance solutions

At the Commonwealth Business Summit in Windhoek, Trade Treasury Payments (TTP) spoke with Neil Shonhard, CEO of MonetaGo

Watch the video on YouTube here.

At the Commonwealth Business Summit in Windhoek, Trade Treasury Payments (TTP) spoke with Neil Shonhard, CEO of MonetaGo, to explore how digital infrastructure can unlock trade finance access for small businesses across the Commonwealth, particularly in Africa.

Reflecting on the keynote from the Commonwealth’s new Secretary-General, Dr Shirley Botchwey, Shonhard noted trade is expected to become a central pillar of the Secretariat’s agenda. With Dr Botchwey’s extensive background as Ghana’s former trade minister, he believes the region is well-positioned to prioritise inclusive economic growth.

“Access to finance across Africa is still incredibly limited,” Shonhard said. “The MSME segment faces up to 80% unmet financing demand, compared to around 50% globally. And that hits African nations hardest.”

With the Commonwealth’s goal of reaching $2 trillion in intra-regional trade by 2030, Shonhard underscored the urgency of the task, particularly as Africa is projected to host 80–90% of the world’s extreme poor by that same year. Shonhard noted that digital public infrastructure that has potential do de-risk trade can play a transformational role in the region.

Such infrastructure includes national-level trade data registries and fraud prevention systems, which boost lender confidence and unlock liquidity. MonetaGo’s own systems, already deployed in India and Singapore, are now being explored across several African Commonwealth nations.

“There is no region in the world,” Shonhard concluded, “where there is so much opportunity to do so much good.”