Browsing: Africa’s fintech revolution

Amid Africa’s digital transformation, several sectors have pioneered and dominated this move. The continent’s digital money adoption has become one of its most highlighted features since 2002. From Mpesa to Luno and Flutterwave, the era of new payment services has overhauled the continent’s progress. In recent developments, Stitch fintech, a South African payment service, secures $25 million Series A extension funding led by Ribbit Capital.…

• Today, many Africans struggle to manage their finances, often using up their salaries before they even receive them.
• This struggle is partly due to a failure of financial inclusion, which is a chance for all individuals to access financial tools.
• Financial inclusion is a means of reducing inequality and bridging economic gaps.

Financial inclusion is a concept that transcends economic borders, embodying the idea that access to financial services is a fundamental human right that can empower individuals to build wealth and improve their lives.

While financial inclusion might appear irrelevant to those who seemingly have access to financial tools, it’s imperative to recognize that a significant portion of the global population, particularly in Africa, still faces barriers to formal financial services.

According to the World Bank’s 2021 Global Findex report, up to 38 percent of adults in developing countries remain unbanked.

Financial inclusion means bridging gaps

At its core, …

• Rwanda and Kenya lead E. Africa in the list of most entrepreneurial countries in Africa.
• All other five East African countries do not make Africa’s top 10 list.
• Fintech remains the leader in entrepreneurship  growth in Africa.

Entrepreneurship is growing at a tremendous rate across Africa and is to date the most powerful catalyst for economic growth and creation of employment for youth.

According to the UN Assistant Secretary-General and Director of the UN Development Program Ahunna Eziakonwa, digital innovation is the leading enterprise in Africa.

Entrepreneurship, a solution to poverty

The diplomat also recognizes the diversity that Africa’s vastness offers numeurous opportunities but on the other hand creates new challenges to ‘creating universal solutions for issues such as poverty and food security, because each country has its own capacity for innovation.’

“I think one of the flaws in development practice in the past has been taking Africa almost as …

London-based fintech company, Unlimit has announced its entry into the Kenyan market, expanding its presence in Africa’s fintech industry. 

• Initially launched in 2009, Unlimit focuses on providing easy-to-use and efficient payment processing companies to all its users.
• According to McKinsey, blockchain, cryptocurrency, and decentralized technology are expected to redefine financial services within Africa completely. 
• At the beginning of 2023, Disrupt Africa released a report stating that Africa’s fintech industry received $1.45 billion in funding for 2022.

Unlimit eyes Africa’s fintech industry potential

Within the past decade, Africa’s fintech industry has significantly improved in scale and potential. The rapid digital transformation of the continent has attracted numerous investors seeking to capitalize on potential markets and startups.

Unlimit is a London-based fintech organization that soon took wind of the numerous opportunities the country offers. Launched in 2009, Unlimit fintech focuses on providing easy-to-use and efficient payment processing services to all its users. …

DP World, a global leader in supply chain solutions, announced a partnership with Standard Bank to offer trade finance solutions. This partnership will act as the bridge between African businesses and the DP World Trade Finance to open new doors of opportunity for the continent.…

• Fintech BKN301 will significantly aid MENA region’s fintech sector, which experts project to reach $3.45 billion by 2026.
• Two of the world’s three largest remittance corridors located in the UAE and Saudi Arabia handled $78 billion in payments in 2020, 6 equating to 7 percent of the GDP of the two nations combined.
• Currently, fintech companies attracted 48.3 percent of known startups funding on the continents in 2021 and 43.3 percent in 2022.

Fintech heavyweight BKN301 is eyeing fresh growth opportunities in the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) market, where the firm seeks to deploy its leading innovations in the industry. Its entry into MENA is set to accelerate the adoption of digital currency, even as expert project that the region’s market  will grow to $3.45 billion by 2026.

MENA fintech market on the rise

Africa’s digital transformation is paving the way for numerous advancements within the continent’s economy. Regional economies …

• The use of digital solutions is revolutionizing all kinds of financial transactions from making simple payments to borrowing and lending.
• With mobile phone and internet penetration rising at a phenomenal phase, even the remotest parts of Africa can now access financial services through their mobile phones.
• The World Bank: It is time for policymakers to embrace fintech opportunities and implement policies that enable and encourage safe financial innovation and adoption.

Financial technology or the application of digital tools to streamline financial services more commonly known in the short form Fintech, is reshaping the future of financial services and creating a boom for investors in the fast-growing segment.

The use of digital solutions is revolutionizing all kinds of financial transactions from making simple payments to borrowing and lending. Be it your next investment portfolio or your insurance, you name it, almost any financial service you can think of can now be …

• • Initially, fintech ImaliPay had roughly 15 partners including powerful gig platforms Glovo, SWVL, Bolt and Gokada. 
  • At the moment, the firm has over 4,500 vendor points, accounting for over 200,000 transactions monthly.
  • London-based Centropy PR is an independent PR agency specializing in tech, financial services, healthcare, and the property sector.

ImaliPay, an African fintech services provider has tapped Centropy PR, a London-based agency, to pioneer its international communications as the firm engages the gas pedal to go global. The move comes after the fintech company recently secured $3 million in funding to power its business operations.

In 2020, Tatenda Furusa and Oluwasanmi Akinmusire, former senior executives at the African digital payment firm Cellutant projected the rise of fintech industry after noticing limits of traditional financial systems.

“The first time I noticed a problem with our current financial service was during a personal experience. Once, a Bolt driver ran out …

• The fintech industry is Africa’s financial inclusion solution for all vulnerable groups including women.
• Sub-Sahara Africa, fintech startups recorded 894% year-on-year growth in funding in 2021
• More than 400 million new mobile subscribers expected to sign up globally by 2025

A report published by McKinsey claims that the number of tech start-ups in Africa tripled to around 5,200 companies between 2020 and 2021 and just under half of these are fintech startups.

In the report titled ‘Fintech in Africa:The end of the beginning’ McKinsey shows that in line with global market leaders, the African fintech industry enjoyed revenues of between US$4 billion and US$6 billion in 2020 and average penetration levels of between 3 and 5 percent.

The fintech industry is Africa’s financial inclusion solution for all vulnerable groups including women, the elderly, and the larger section of the population in remote rural settings.

“What you have here is not …

• African fintech is the fastest-growing start-up industry in Africa
• Africa’s fintech sector is well placed to quickly improve Africa’s global competitiveness through an increase in exporting fintech services abroad
• The rise of financial inclusion in Africa is stifled by regulatory uncertainty and regional differences
• Also the top 5 fintech trends and forecasts to watch in 2023

The success of fintech companies is fuelled by several trends, including growing smartphone ownership, expanded network coverage, declining internet costs,  and a young, rapidly urbanising, and fast-growing population.

African fintech is the fastest-growing start-up industry in Africa, raising over US$1,3 billion in 2021 alone.

According to McKinsey research, fintech sales in Africa are predicted to expand by 10% each year through 2025, with transactions and wallets becoming the fastest-growing products.

Despite the fact that fewer than 15% of monetary operations on the continent are digital, African fintechs collectively generated US$4-6 billion in revenue by …