In the third episode of the series, we discuss fintechs and their role in the advancement of the banking sector. Research shows that fintechs make up the fastest-growing start-up industry in Africa. Their rise is being fuelled by several trends, including increasing smartphone ownership, declining internet costs, and expanded network coverage, as well as a young, fast-growing, and rapidly urbanizing population. CNBC Africa’s Fifi Peters speaks to Djiba Diallo, Senior Fintech Advisor at Ecobank; Itumeleng Moagi, Co-Founder, Growth Factor Technologies; and Kiiru Mohoya, Founder and CEO of Fingo Africa.

Is Africa the Next Global Hub for Fintech Innovation?

Africa is home to nearly 1 in 5 people on the planet, yet 57% of Africans still lack access to basic financial services like bank accounts or mobile wallets. This creates a virgin land—a frontier market—for the adventurous looking to become a market leader. Many credit fintech as the great enabler, reaching Africa’s unbanked, where traditional brick-and-mortar banks simply couldn’t. Despite significant gains being made towards financial inclusion in the past decade, over half of the 1.4 billion people living in Africa remain unbanked. The opportunity is massive.

In 2020, Stripe acquired Paystack, Nigeria’s very own payments company. That deal, along with a steady stream of fintech unicorn births from the likes of Interswitch Group, OPay, and Flutterwave (from Nigeria), Fawry (from Egypt), and Wave Mobile Money (Senegal), has drawn the attention of investors and globally-minded fintech companies alike.

In 2020, Africa’s total financial services market revenue totaled US $150 billion. By 2025, it’s expected to reach over US $230 billion. No matter how you cut it, that’s no small pie.

On top of all that, there is a real need for these financial services on the continent. Not just for individuals, but for micro and SME entrepreneurs. SMEs contribute over 70% of Africa’s GDP, yet more than half of these business owners lack access to funding due to being unbanked and having no credit history. Addressing this gap presents a chance to empower millions of unbanked Africans while fostering economic growth.

#Nigeria, #SouthAfrica, and #Egypt collectively account for nearly half of Africa’s wealth, making them prominent destinations for fintech investment. #Kenya and #Ghana are also emerging as key players in the fintech landscape.

To delve deeper into the insights and perspectives of Africa’s fintech scene, our exclusive report features perspectives from thought leaders such as Kareem Abdel Aziz at IFC – International Finance Corporation, Mark Elliott at Mastercard, Olayinka David-West (she/her/hers) from Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University, and Walter Akpani at ProvidusBank.

We also get to hear firsthand from Sahir Berry and MAHESH NAIR, co-founders of Nigerian digital banking startup NowNow ; as well as Ladi Delano and Jide Odunsi, co-founders of mobility fintech startup Moove, who share their remarkable experiences, opportunities, and challenges in this dynamic market.

Discover the future of #fintech in Africa by reading the full report on Lucidity Insights: https://lnkd.in/gQE4_-H2

Once you’re done reading this report, you may well conclude that the future of fintech might well be in #Africa.

Kenyan based fintech, M-Kopa, has raised more than $250 million of debt and equity to fund its expansion in sub-Saharan Africa. The debt-funding was led by Standard Bank Group, with participation from the International Finance Corporation, British International Investment, Mirova SunFunder and Nithio. CGTN got a hold of the firm’s Director of Strategic Finance, Tsakane Ngoepe, to expound on what this new funding means.

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