Its good to know that not all African countries are sitting down idle waiting for the West to save 'em or throw them a life jacket in these harsh economic storms.
An example is a smart idea arising from east Africa - MPESA.

MPESA is a financial service offered by Safaricom, Kenya's leading mobile phone operator, that allows a user with an appropriate SIM card to transfer money to other people with or without an MPESA account. The idea of micro transactions with mobile phones is definitely not a new one, but the extent to which it's used and "practicalised" is what may constitute it being a grand idea. The willingness of vendors and merchants to incorporate this currency among their selected means of accepting purchase would greatly increase the likelihood of success. The reality though is these mobile platform payments are increasing by the minute. An example is Manzi from South Africa and Sokotele from Celtel.
The reality though is Africa's need for a independent platform like paypal which supports continent wide transactions and not independent efforts by firms which would ultimately lead to monopolist technologies.