Nigerian immigrants abroad grapple with challenges in money transfers, stemming from high remittance fees, and limited access to formal financial services, and regulations. Often sending a significant part of their income back home, these immigrants seek affordable remittance solutions.
According to the World Bank’s Remittance report, the average cost of sending remittances to Sub-Saharan Africa, which includes Nigeria, is 6.25%.
Traditional transfer methods entail exorbitant fees imposed by banks and agencies, diminishing the aid reaching families and hindering economic impact.
Moreover, many migrants, especially in rural areas, lack access to formal financial channels, compelling reliance on costlier informal options, exacerbating difficulties in ensuring reliable transfers to their families.
A survey conducted by the Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access (EFInA) organization in Nigeria highlights the challenges of financial exclusion. The survey revealed that as of 2020, about 36.8% of Nigeria’s adult population remained financially excluded, lacking access to formal financial services like bank accounts.
Lemfi, Nigerian Fintech, raised $33 million in a Series A funding round led by Left Lane Capital. The funding enables the company to simplify remittance payments for immigrants globally. Other investors included Y-Combinator, Zrosk, Global Founders Capital, and Olive Tree.
The company, formally known as Lemonade Finance was founded in 2020 by CEO Ridwan Olalere and Rian Cochran. It provides financial services for immigrants enabling them to send, receive, convert, and hold money in their home currency, and host countries.
Transferring money used to entail the use of different payment for money transfer methods before LemFi simplified the process. High transfer fee’s would also cause substantial loss of funds.
As of July 2023, Lemfi’s subsidiary, RightCard Payment Services Limited, obtained the International Money Transfer Operator (IMTO) license from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). This means that LemFi can now work directly with banks, making money transfers to Nigeria smoother and more convenient eliminating intermediaries.
The Fintech company is also registered as a Money Service Business (MSB) by Canada’s Financial Transactions and Report Analysis Centre, and in the United States of America, and are registered as a Financial Technology company (Lemonade Two).
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry
Kenya’s positioning as the gateway to the East Africa region, together with the empowering effects of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2023), puts Kenyan businesses in a prime position to benefit from the huge growth opportunities for intra-African trade and investments. At today’s high-level business ‘Road to IATF2023’ event in Nairobi, Kenya, leading up to the third Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2023), the organisers met the business community and government representatives to raise awareness and encourage participation at the trade fair. Organised by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), in collaboration with the African Union (AU) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, IATF2023 will be held from 9 to 15 November 2023 in Cairo, Egypt.
In his opening remarks, Afreximbank’s Mr. Denys Denya, Executive Vice President – Finance, Administration & Banking Services, extolled Kenya’s standing as the largest economy in East Africa, its vital leadership role in promoting intra-African trade and investments, and its positioning for production and service distribution. He also highlighted the unique and transformational opportunities that the AfCFTA and participation at the IATF2023 provides to Kenyan businesses and the East African region.
“The Roadshow seeks to provide the business community including SMEs, women, youth, with important information on the IATF’s relevance to Africa’s transformation. In that ambition we aim to empower the people of Kenya with information on trade and service as a rallying call for the full participation of the Kenyan business community during the IATF 2023.”
IATF2023 forecast to attract over 1,600 exhibitors, over 35,000 conference delegates and trade visitors from across Africa and beyond, and to result in US$43 billion of trade and investment deals being concluded.
President Uhuru Kenyatta
Representing Hon. Moses Kuria, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Trade, Investments and Industry (MITI) of the Republic of Kenya, Mr. Alfred K’ Ombudo, Principal Secretary of the State Department for Trade (MITI), delivered the Keynote Address. He highlighted Afreximbank’s pivotal role as a strategic partner in advancing Kenya’s developmental goals and in addressing frontier issues that will enable intra-African trade to thrive. Mr. K’ Ombudo also spoke about how Kenya has intentionally positioned itself as a hub for foreign direct investment, serving as a source for quality goods and services. He further highlighted the nation’s proactive initiatives in the rollout of aggregation and industrial parks to promote a value chain approach. He emphasised that IATF2023 is an extremely important avenue for the African business community to establish continental networks and business contacts; and stressed the importance of all African countries being part of trade under the AfCFTA.
“If you want to trade internationally, it’s not just about bringing down tariffs, but it’s about dealing with borders. It’s about dealing with transport logistics. It’s about dealing with the shipping industry. It’s about making sure that your goods are able to arrive competitively. It’s about ensuring that you’re able to package your goods according to the requirements of the foreign market. It’s about making sure that you’re able to comply with the requirements in sanitary and phytosanitary measures and all of those issues. These are long standing long term industrial issues that we hope to work with you and with partners like Afreximbank to be able to deal with. Kenya is a key supporter of the AfCFTA.”
Giving an Afreximbank presentation, Dr. Gainmore Zanamwe, Ag. Director – Trade Facilitation and IATF, Afreximbank, spoke about how Afreximbank prides itself in being “a trade and project finance supermarket”. He highlighted the comprehensive range of trade facilitation and trade finance instrument that Afreximbank is implementing to support the AfCFTA.
At Afreximbank “we no longer want to see our natural resources exported to faraway lands without adding value. So, what we’ve done is to throw in our financial muscle, and we are now focussing on promoting industrialisation and export development and intra-African trade and the implementation of the AfCFTA under our sixth strategic plan.”
In the vibrant and insightful panel session on the theme ‘Seizing the AfCFTA Advantage: Empowering Manufacturers, Exporters, Investors and relevant industry players’ the panellists discussed numerous topics about the benefits and opportunities created by the AfCFTA, and the impact of the trade fair, with particular focus on the context of the local Kenyan market and East African region. Among the numerous issues and insight voiced by the panellists were the need for improving trade enabling infrastructure; the momentum towards establishing pan-African standards in the automotive industry; the challenges around access to markets; the plan to build warehouses in Kenya to create an ecosystem enabling different manufacturers to transport their exports in one container. The panellists also acknowledged that the creative industry has various sectors and different value chains. They also emphasised the importance of ‘buy Kenya, build Kenya’ for Kenyans to support the country’s economic growth and development; the need for Kenya to grow its exports beyond just the East African region to deliver growth, diversity and resilience; and the importance of Pan African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) in facilitating intra-African trade; as well as the need to build more industrial parks in Kenya to accelerate industrialisation, manufacturing and employment creation.
Delegates also enjoyed a vibrant question and answer session in which actionable insight was gleaned by the audience from the high-level panellists. Topics raised included tackling the inefficiencies and high costs of logistics; how the youth in the fashion industry could raise the visibility of their products; the high cost of locally made products; how Kenya’s customs officers are facilitating exports; how the digital trade of creatives can be accelerated; the benefits of PAPSS in settling cross-border transactions; the high cost of electricity in Kenya adversely affecting the competitiveness of local manufacturing internationally; and the need for strong and enduring Kenyan brands.
In his Closing Remarks, H.E. Wael Attiya, Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt to Kenya, praised the intriguing and inspiring interventions of the speakers at the Kenya roadshow and the evident enthusiasm for the AfCFTA in both Kenya and Egypt. He also commented on Kenya being viewed by many as the gateway to the East Africa region.
“What we need to do is to eliminate the borders, and in this context, the trade barriers between African countries, and then it will be Africa against the outside world.” The Ambassador extended his warm invitation to all the stakeholders to IATF2023 in Cairo, Egypt and assured the delegates that all the visa processes will be facilitated.
The IATF2023 roadshow in Nairobi empowered the Kenyan private sector with information about opportunities and benefits of participating in the IATF2023, and its role in supporting African integration and the success of the AfCFTA. IATF2023 is Africa’s premier trade and investment fair and is being held from 9 to 15 November in Cairo. As Africa’s largest trade and investment fair, the event is not to be missed for importers and exporters looking to take advantage of a single market of 1.4 billion people created by the AfCFTA with a combined Gross Domestic Product of over US$3.5 trillion.
The highly successful inaugural Intra-African Trade Fair held in Cairo, Egypt, in 2018 was followed by an even more successful IATF2021 hosted in Durban, South Africa. Collectively, the two editions of the Trade Fair brought together more than 2,500 exhibitors from 77 countries and generated over US$74 billion in trade and investment deals, demonstrating the immense potential that exists for intra-African trade. Building on this success, the third edition (IATF2023) being held in Cairo, Egypt, in November 2023, will again provide an opportunity for exhibitors to showcase their goods and services, engage in Business to Business (B2B) and Business to Government (B2G) exchanges, and conclude business deals which will ensure that the momentum toward greater intra-African trade is sustained.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry
Africa’s leading telecoms company MTN, has announced the introduction of expanded embedded Sim (eSim) support to its prepaid customers. eSim – effectively a digital, software-based replacement for physical Sim cards – is now available to all MTN customers, it said. The e-sim was introduced in the country in 2019 but only to its post-paid client base.
Key features of MTN’s eSim include:
Multiple eSims on one device: Prepaid customers can have multiple eSims on their smartphones.
Ralph Mupita, the MTN Group President and Chief Executive
Global roaming: MTN’s eSim functionality enables access to local networks while travelling abroad, with no need to acquire a physical Sim.
MTN’s move to expand support of eSims comes weeks ahead of the iPhone 15 launch, at which Apple may announce the end of support for physical Sims in its smartphones. Already, the iPhone 14 series models sold in the US no longer support physical Sims.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry
The African Energy Chamber (AEC) has announced that Senegalese President Macky Sall, renowned for his dedication to addressing energy poverty and sustainability while catalyzing economic growth across Africa, is set to inaugurate the highly anticipated African Energy Week (AEW) conference as the opening keynote speaker. The event, scheduled to take place from October 16–20 in Cape Town, draws attention to the critical discussions shaping the continent’s energy landscape.
President Sall’s presence at AEW resonates as a testament to the significance of this gathering, attracting influential leaders, experts and stakeholders from the global energy sector. His insightful keynote address will set the tone for comprehensive discussions and transformative initiatives that will unfold during the conference.
At the forefront of President Sall’s vision lies a just energy transition, one that harnesses the potential of clean hydrocarbons such as gas for industrialization while simultaneously enhancing access to development finance across Africa. His steadfast advocacy for this balanced transition reflects the urgency of addressing the energy crisis while fostering sustainable development.
Senegalese President Macky Sall
Senegal’s energy sector stands as a shining example of transformative growth under President Sall’s leadership. On the natural gas front, President Sall has championed projects that harness Senegal’s hydrocarbon potential. The Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) project, with its 15 trillion cubic feet of gas resources, is a testament to Senegal’s capacity to contribute significantly to global energy security, while the Yakaar-Teranga field development further bolsters Senegal’s domestic energy portfolio. Both projects are making progress and are poised to position the country as a global Liquefied Natural Gas producer and exporter.
Senegal’s strategic partnerships within the MSGBC region are pivotal to its energy and economic trajectory. The MSGBC region’s gas industry is poised for accelerated growth in 2023. The GTA project’s first gas production heralds a domino effect of industry benefits. With project partners BP and Kosmos Energy targeting early 2024 for first gas production, Senegal and the MSGBC region are set for economic growth. The Yakaar-Teranga Development and the Banda Gas Field anticipate final investment decisions in 2023, opening doors for investment opportunities across the region. New licensing rounds and drilling campaigns in Senegal, Mauritania, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, and Guinea-Conakry promise a fresh slate of investment and exploration. This growth is projected to have a positive impact on the regional economy, boosting regional GDP contribution and laying the foundation for a just and inclusive energy transition.
Additionally, the nation has embarked on a journey to diversify its energy sources, with an emphasis on renewable energy projects. The ambition to achieve universal access to electricity by 2025 has driven initiatives like the Senergy 2 solar project, which aims to produce 200 MW of solar energy. Additionally, Senegal’s collaboration with international partners has seen the successful development of the 158 MW Taiba N’Diaye wind farm, positioning the nation as a regional leader in renewable energy integration.
President Sall’s visionary leadership extends across all sectors, notably through the transformative Plan for an Emerging Senegal (PES). The PES prioritizes structural economic transformation, human capital, and good governance, focusing on 27 flagship projects spanning critical sectors such as construction, logistics, and mining. The PES’ strategic approach to energy and infrastructure recovery serves as the foundation for Senegal’s successful transformation into an emerging economy, attracting global investment and achieving energy self-sufficiency.
“He is a champion for the energy industry. He understands Oil, Gas and Renewables. Senegal’s dynamic strides within the energy industry are truly commendable. The nation has embarked on a journey of remarkable transformation. From pioneering renewable energy projects to leveraging its abundant natural gas resources, Senegal is setting a new standard for energy development in Africa. The nation’s commitment to sustainable progress and a balanced energy transition is inspiring, and serves as a beacon of hope for the entire continent,” states NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the AEC.
President Macky Sall’s presence at AEW symbolizes a shared commitment to crafting a brighter and more sustainable energy future for Africa. As the energy landscape evolves, President Sall’s visionary leadership, dedication to sustainable progress, and emphasis on a balanced energy transition will inspire discussions and guide Africa’s energy transformation.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry
The Kenyan Government has come up with a comprehensive plan to tap resources in the blue economy to transform the lives of Kenyans. According to President William Ruto, the country has a lot of resources in the blue economy, which remain untapped.
Speaking during the official launch of Mulukhoba fish landing site in Budalangi, Busia County, on Saturday, Dr Ruto said the sector will play an important role in the provision of employment opportunities for the youth.
“The blue economy will be an economic game changer for this country. We are going to integrate the sector for food security and employment opportunities for our people,” said President Ruto. He said the facility’s cold room will process more than 10 tonnes of fish in a day.
Presdient Williams Ruto
“The improved refrigeration will help maintain a long shelf life and guarantee quality of fish from Busia and the neighboring counties,” he said.
President Ruto said there was a comprehensive plan to restock Lake Victoria with fingerlings to shore up fishing stocks.
Present were Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, Cabinet Secretaries Ababa Namwamba (Sports), Salim Mvurya (Mining, Blue Economy, Maritime Affairs), Ezekiel Machogu (Education), Eliud Owalo (ICT) and Susan Nakhumicha (Health), Busia Governor Paul Otwoma, a host of Principal Secretaries, MPs and MCAs.
In Busia Town, President Ruto officially opened the Busia County Teaching and Referral Hospital Surgical Ward that is complete with a General Surgical Unit, Orthopedic Surgery Unit and Paediatric Unit with a combined bed capacity of more than 90.
“The reorientation of our medical services, placing community health promoters at the centre of our Plan, advances early detection and prevention of diseases, assuring all Kenyans — especially those at the grassroots — accessible, quality and affordable care,” he said.
Later, at Alupe University in Teso South, he officially opened the institution’s Academic Block and Library. He also presided over the launch of Lurambi affordable housing project in Lurambi constituency, Kakamega County.
“We are building 4,000 houses in Lurambi that will create employment opportunities for over 10,000 youth,” he said.
The Deputy President said the Government was on course in delivering its pledges and reducing the cost of living.
“We pledged to serve all Kenyans equally and deliver our promises and we are on course,” he said.
Mr Mudavadi asked leaders from the political left to be united and serve Kenyans. Mvurya said the Government was exploiting the potentiality of the sector to create jobs. He said plans were underway to transform Beach Management Units (BMUs) into savings and credit cooperative societies.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry
President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met with Head of the Armed Forces’ Financial Affairs Authority Lieutenant General Ahmed El-Shazly, Director General of the National Service Projects Organization of the Armed Forces Major General Walid Abul Magd and CEO of Solb Misr Company General Emad El-Kayyal.
The spokesman for the presidency said the meeting reviewed iron and steel industry projects in Egypt, within the framework of the state’s plan to develop the heavy and strategic industries.
President Abdel Fattah
The President gave directives to continue efforts to provide a supportive environment for the heavy national industries sector, particularly the iron and steel industry, taking into account its vital role in the ongoing development process in all sectors throughout the country. This is in addition to its contribution to reducing pressure on hard currency by making use of local raw materials. The meeting also reviewed efforts to deepen local industrialization in this regard, enhance competitive and export capabilities, and overcome related logistical obstacles
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry
In a significant stride towards sustainable agriculture, a groundbreaking partnership between American and Finnish investors is set to revolutionize Kenya’s farming landscape. The pioneering venture aims to fund the construction of a state-of-the-art pyrethrum processing plant in the heart of Kenya.
The catalysts behind this initiative are none other than the U.S. Development Finance Agency (DFC) and Finland’s esteemed impact investor, Finnfund. Their joint commitment of a remarkable $15 million to Kentegra Biotechnology, an innovative American-Kenyan company founded in 2017 and specialized in insecticides and pesticides derived from pyrethrum flower extracts, is poised to redefine the future of sustainable farming.
Johanna Raehalme, the astute head of Finnfund’s Nairobi office
The infusion of funds, split between a $10 million loan from DFC and a $5 million equity investment from Finnfund, holds the promise of boosting Kentegra Biotechnology’s production capacity. The primary goal is to bolster their pyrethrum-based product offerings, while simultaneously fostering a network of local farmers who play a pivotal role in the supply chain.
Johanna Raehalme, the astute head of Finnfund’s Nairobi office, emphasized the strategic brilliance of the move. “Kentegra is an embodiment of investors’ dreams, aligning seamlessly with profitability, environmental sustainability, and positive impact. This venture holds immense growth potential, riding the crest of a surging market trend.”
Micah Thuo, the visionary Operations Manager at Kentegra, set the wheels in motion by unveiling plans for a cutting-edge pyrethrum processing plant in Kenya’s Nakuru County earlier this year. The company sought the support of DFC and Finnfund, whose diligent evaluation led to resounding approval and the allocation of vital resources for the project’s realization.
The partnership between DFC and Kentegra Biotechnology marks DFC’s second strategic move in Kenya during 2023. This follows their earlier investment in Hewa Tele Medical Oxygen, a healthcare-focused entity making strides in Kenya’s medical sector.
Finnfund’s focus on Africa in 2022 reaped impressive dividends, with the continent absorbing 57% of their investment portfolio and 54% of their investment decisions. Their commitment to Kenya spans multiple sectors, including energy, water, healthcare, and the vibrant hospitality industry.
As the sun sets on the conventional approaches to agriculture, the dawn of this avant-garde partnership between DFC and Finnfund heralds a new era for Kenya’s farming future. With sustainable practices and economic growth at the forefront, the pyrethrum processing plant project stands as a beacon of hope for a greener, more prosperous tomorrow.
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert. As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard
SeerBit, a Nigerians-based pan-African payment solutions provider, has launched Alpha, a white-label product that makes it easier for financial institutions, travel and hospitality companies, online marketplaces and other businesses to launch their own digital financial technology solutions.
SeerBit is a pan-African payment solutions provider that makes it easier for businesses and financial service providers to make and accept payments from their customers across Africa. Users have the advantage of enjoying flexible features to fit any business with a single integration.
The company has operations in 10 African countries with a wide range of solutions developed to drive the adoption of digital payments across the continent. Its latest product is Alpha, which it says “takes the hassle out of businesses having their own personalised fintech solutions to deliver the services customers want and need, powering them to not only drive growth but add value to their customers by providing easier access to game changing digital financial services”.
Omoniyi Kolade, CEO and founder of SeerBit.
Businesses simply need to plug SeerBit Alpha into their existing platform, and they will be enabled to seamlessly offer credit, operate their own payment gateway, and launch digital banking services such as account opening, fund transfers, and international money transfers.
SeerBit Alpha can also be leveraged to sell mobile phone credits and billing services, enabling customers to purchase mobile phone credits directly through their platforms, expanding their service offerings and opening additional revenue streams.
“Our mission at SeerBit is to make it as easy as possible for businesses to leverage digital payments to drive growth and SeerBit Alpha is one of the products that helps us to achieve this. We are taking away the complexity of having to build your own solutions and giving businesses the opportunity to take advantage of our tried and tested innovation. By leveraging our cutting-edge technology, businesses can unlock new opportunities, drive growth, and establish themselves as leaders in the evolving fintech landscape,” said Omoniyi Kolade, CEO and founder of SeerBit.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry
The South African Banking as a Service (BaaS) and embedded finance enabler Ukheshe has partnered with Diamond Trust Bank (DTB) to provide an innovative BaaS platform in East Africa.
Ukheshe is a leading fintech enablement partner, with a legacy in enterprise platform delivery of embedded finance. It has created an extensive range of micro-services that enable rapid digital transaction propositions for clients.
BaaS, the provision of banking products and services through third-party distributors, is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of a whopping 25 per cent in some markets, and this new partnership between Ukheshe and DTB will see both parties “get ahead of this rapid growth curve”.
Ukheshe Technologies CEO Clayton Hayward
Mark Dankworth, president of business development at Ukheshe Africa, said the company was thrilled to partner with DTB as a progressive bank that shared its vision for BaaS.
“Ukheshe had been looking for a banking partner in the region, and when we met with DTB to explore these opportunities, several synergies immediately came to light. When I first met Jamie (Loden), the COO of DTB, he said, “We are striving to be a technology company with a banking licence”. I knew then that we had the technology and DTB had the licence. We’re extremely excited to enable DTB to launch some innovative endeavours within the East African market,” he said.
Loden said the market was ready for new offers.
“Consumers are becoming more aware of the options in the market and are starting to favour convenience over cost. This creates new opportunities for agile BaaS models,” he said.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry
There are encouraging signs within the African fintech architecture as the fintech startup ecosystem continues on its growth trajectory, with the number of startups operating in the space increasing by 17.7 per cent to 678 in 2023 as compared to 2021.
This is according to the latest edition of Disrupt Africa’s Finnovating for Africa publication, released every two years since June 2017, which tracks the extraordinary development of the fintech ecosystem across Africa over the last few years.
The fourth edition of the report is released in partnership with AZA Finance, an African fintech company offering secure and efficient financial infrastructure for payments, foreign exchange, and settlement; and Curacel, an insurance infrastructure company that helps insurers and partners in Africa and other emerging markets increase the reach and functionality of insurance through cloud-based tools and APIs.
It finds that fintech is still comfortably the most-populated vertical within Africa’s wider tech ecosystem, having maintained its steady growth over the last two years. The growth rate of 17.7 per cent to 678 ventures from 576 in 2021 is similar to that witnessed between 2019 and 2017, when the number of active ventures increased by 17.3 per cent. Overall, the number of fintech startups active in Africa has increased by 125.2 per cent between 2017 and 2023.
This growth is taking place across the continent, with all major markets bar South Africa posting an increase in the number of active ventures. Egypt and Nigeria are growing especially fast, with the number of fintech companies based in those countries leaping by 66.7 per cent and 50 per cent respectively over the course of the last two years.
Startups continue to launch at a steady rate. Almost 40 per cent of currently active fintech ventures were launched between 2019 and 2021, and though numbers for 2022 and 2023 look lower for now, there will undoubtedly be many startups that formed more recently that have yet to flick across our radar.
The maintained growth trajectory of the African fintech startup ecosystem is even more impressive when one considers the relatively high churn rate within the sector. Of the 576 startups included in the 2021 edition of this report, 115 – 20 per cent – have since ceased to operate.
“It is clear that African fintech is in its prime, driving forward financial inclusion and powering the commercial revolution occurring on the continent,” said Disrupt Africa co-founder Tom Jackson.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry
