Every minute, over 2 million mobile money transactions occur across Africa. That’s not hyperbole. It’s the new normal in a continent that’s home to 1.1 billion registered mobile money accounts and processed $1.1 trillion in transactions in 2024 alone, according to GSMA’s State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money 2025. On the surface, this paints a glowing picture of Africa’s fintech revolution. But a deeper look reveals a sobering truth: Africa doesn’t need more fintechs—it needs smarter ones.
Fintech is Booming, But What’s the Value Beyond the Numbers?
Africa’s dominance in mobile money is unquestionable. The continent now accounts for over 50% of global mobile money accounts, with East and West Africa leading the charge. In East Africa, services like M-Pesa in Kenya and Tanzania have become lifelines for millions. In West Africa, Nigeria and Ghana are racing forward catching up quickly.
Yet, amidst this boom, a critical question arises: Are African fintechs truly addressing the continent’s deepest financial challenges—or simply scaling digital wallets? Sure, wallets are convenient. But convenience isn’t transformation.
The Informal Economy: Africa’s $2.5 Trillion Opportunity
Nearly 85% of jobs in sub-Saharan Africa are in the informal sector. From market women and mechanics to smallholder farmers and gig workers, the informal economy contributes around 55% to the region’s GDP, estimated at a massive $2.5 trillion. Yet, very few fintech startups have seriously tackled this space.
Most products today are designed for salaried workers with smartphones and access to the internet. But what about the millions who don’t have consistent data access, own a feature phone, or live on cash-based systems? If fintech is about inclusion, this gap should be the core of innovation.
Mobile Money Is Just the Beginning—Not the Destination
Mobile money providers have made strides. As of June 2024:
- 44% offered credit services
- 33% offered savings
- 28% offered insurance
This expansion beyond peer-to-peer payments is commendable. Yet, most of these services remain underutilised. Why? Because the ecosystem isn’t designed with the informal economy in mind. For example, microcredit models often require credit histories or formal IDs—two things many in the informal sector don’t possess. Meanwhile, insurance remains a foreign concept to rural communities where trust and literacy gaps are wide.
The Real Fintech Unicorns Will Solve for This Majority
Let’s consider a few outliers doing it differently:
- Tulaa (Kenya): Built a platform for smallholder farmers to save toward inputs like seeds and fertilizer, access microloans, and connect directly with buyers. It uses simple USSD interfaces and agent networks.
- Aella Credit (Nigeria): Started with loans for salaried workers but pivoted to underwrite informal workers using alternative data—like smartphone usage, bill payments, and social connections.
- Wave (Senegal): Instead of launching another wallet, Wave built a low-cost, agent-based model for deposits and withdrawals, slashing fees by up to 70%. In a region where mobile money fees are notoriously high, this mattered.
These aren’t just fintechs. They are infrastructure builders.
Africa Needs Infrastructure, Not Just Apps
The obsession with building “Africa’s Stripe” or “Africa’s Robinhood” is limiting. Africa doesn’t need clones—it needs context. The next wave of fintech unicorns will likely be the ones who:
- Build offline-first tools that work in areas with poor connectivity
- Integrate with informal savings groups, cooperatives, and community banks
- Design with illiteracy and digital exclusion in mind
- Partner with local agents and NGOs to drive trust
- Make regulation part of their business model, not a threat
In short, they won’t just scale tech—they’ll scale trust.
Conclusion: Investors, It’s Time to Rethink Fintech Bets
$1.1 trillion in mobile money transactions is impressive. But if that money simply flows within a small subset of Africa’s population, the digital divide will widen—not close. It’s time for investors and founders alike to shift from vanity metrics to value metrics. Don’t ask how many downloads your fintech app has. Ask how many farmers got better access to markets, how many informal traders grew their savings, and how many mothers avoided medical debt through micro-insurance.
Africa doesn’t need more fintechs. It needs fintechs that matter.
