Browsing: Start ups in Africa

• 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 …

Africa’s Cashless Payment Revolution, According to World Bank data, more than two-thirds of Africa’s population has no access to the formal banking system. This is largely the direct result of challenges such as underdevelopment, financial illiteracy as well as a predominantly rural based population. 

These factors among others have led to a situation where banking is both inaccessible and overly expensive for the bulk of the population. Further, African economies are driven by an informally oriented economic climate; as a result, banking for many is not an option. 

This situation has prompted innovative approaches to avail financial services. Among the disruptions in financial services, there has been a rise of fintech to cater for payments outside of the banking system. Some of these include mobile money payment solutions and online payment/receipt platforms. 

Fintech Start Ups Attracting Investment 

This sector has become one of Africa’s fastest-growing in the digital …

Since the turn of the century, Africa’s GDP has grown by 4.6 per cent annually, on average.

Domestic demand has been Africa’s key driver of the growth performance accounting for 69 per cent of annual growth between 2000 and 2018, according to the African Union (AU).

The AU notes that this is reflected in the demand for processed food which is growing 1.5 times faster than the global average. On the other hand, the demand for many other products such as vehicles, manufactured metals and industrial machinery, is expanding faster than the global average.

This makes it a good opportunity for local firms to grow in size and productivity.

Start-ups in Africa

On the tech front, start-ups in Africa have also increasingly emerged with the top three activities relating to information technology and communications (ICT) and internet services; digital applications and software; and the creation of audio-visual content and broadcasting.…