What's Hot

    Paymob and Khazenly enter partnership

    February 1, 2023

    Free trade: Qatar and Morocco conclude second round of talks

    January 31, 2023

    MENA startups raised almost USD 4 billion in 2022

    January 30, 2023
    Gulf Africa ReviewGulf Africa Review
    • Industry
    • Infrastructure
      1. Airport
      2. Hospitality
      3. Ports
      4. Power
      5. Rail
      6. Roads
      7. Transport
      Featured

      Osun seeks to capitalise on infrastructure momentum

      Infrastructure May 21, 2018
      Recent

      KarmSolar receives USD 3 million to develop Farafra Solar Grid

      January 11, 2023

      AD Ports Group reports strong growth

      January 3, 2023

      Hyosung Heavy Industries to start construction on South African energy storage project

      December 12, 2022
    • Business & Trade
      1. Agri-Business
      2. Entrepreneurship
      3. FDI
      4. Legislative
      5. MEA
      6. Telecoms
      7. Properties
      Featured

      Analysts predict bullish future for Nigeria’s REITs market

      Business Business & Trade January 21, 2018
      Recent

      Free trade: Qatar and Morocco conclude second round of talks

      January 31, 2023

      Gold-for-oil: Ghana attempts to address forex pressures

      January 18, 2023

      AD Ports Group reports strong growth

      January 3, 2023
    • Finance
      1. Banking
      2. Islamic finance
      Featured

      Social investment platform InvestSky raises USD 3.4 million

      Business Entrepreneurship Finance January 12, 2023
      Recent

      Social investment platform InvestSky raises USD 3.4 million

      January 12, 2023

      African startups face challenges in 2023

      January 10, 2023

      MENA startups raised USD 125 million in December

      January 6, 2023
    • Innovation
    Gulf Africa ReviewGulf Africa Review
    Entrepreneurship

    Fintech startups in Africa grew 81% in 2021

    December 20, 20223 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    fintech
    South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya are among Africa's leading fintech hubs.
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    Fintech startups in Africa grew 81% in 2021, with South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya emerging as key hubs on the continent, according to a Mastercard study on the state of fintech in African markets.

    Fintech startups were the subject of a White Paper from Mastercard entitled ‘The Future of Fintech: Rapid Growth Attracts Smart Capital’, the White Paper was released at Mobile World Congress (MWC) Africa, one of the continent’s most influential connectivity events, of which Mastercard is a founding partner.

    Some of the key findings from the White Paper include how the sector accounted for 27% of the record-high number of deals closed and 61% of the USD 2.7 billion deployed across Africa in 2021. The space was further characterized by mega deals of more than USD 100 million each.

    Fintech: Focusing on financial and digital inclusion

    The White Paper elaborates on how innovation in Africa has been driven by the need to resolve multiple pain points, with a focus on increasing financial and digital inclusion. South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya are among the countries leading the transition to digital payments, with infrastructure and policy frameworks that enable this growth firmly in place.

    “It is encouraging to witness the growth of the fintech landscape across the region, creating multiple opportunities for start-ups, scale-ups, enablers and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to bring more people into the digital fold. At Mastercard, we are helping to fuel fintech acceleration by offering access to our expertise, network and technology. We provide a portfolio of technology solutions, APIs, developer tools, partner network, startup programs and a community experience for every fintech company and payments developer, helping turn their bold ideas into reality,” said Ngozi Megwa, Senior Vice President, Digital Partners and Enablers, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa at Mastercard.

    Rising global funding

    The growth in the number of fintech companies in Africa is reflective of global funding, which reached a new record of USD 131.5 billion in 2021. The number of fintech unicorns climbed to 235, with 34 alone born in Q4 2021. Fintech companies now represent more than 20% of total tech unicorn value, compared to 15% in the previous year.

    The White Paper revealed that, on the demand side, the role of MSMEs has been crucial to the sector’s growth. MSMEs use financial solutions to scale, source, and reach. The growth in alternative payment rails and emerging platforms are shaping the commercial landscape.

    Buoyed by demand, the sector has seen products based on multi-faceted innovation in emerging and mature economies. Providing scalable financial services using the internet, blockchain and algorithms, companies have widened the reach of financial services traditionally offered by banks, including loans, payments, investments or wealth management.

    These trends are line with the dominant position of fintech within the regional investment scene.

    The White Paper can be downloaded here.

    Africa Fintech Funding Mastercard
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Telegram Email
    Previous ArticleTop African startups: Digest Africa’s 100 most funded African startups
    Next Article Artemis Accords: Nigeria and Rwanda first in Africa to sign

    Related Posts

    Business

    Paymob and Khazenly enter partnership

    February 1, 2023
    Business Innovation Startups

    MENA startups raised almost USD 4 billion in 2022

    January 30, 2023
    Business Entrepreneurship

    Autochek acquires KIFAL Auto, expands to North Africa

    January 27, 2023
    View 2 Comments

    2 Comments

    1. Pingback: Manafa secures USD 28 million Series A round

    2. Pingback: Tabby raises USD 58 million in Series C round

    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    LATEST STORIES

    Paymob and Khazenly enter partnership

    February 1, 2023

    Free trade: Qatar and Morocco conclude second round of talks

    January 31, 2023

    MENA startups raised almost USD 4 billion in 2022

    January 30, 2023

    Autochek acquires KIFAL Auto, expands to North Africa

    January 27, 2023

    Wafeq raises USD 3 million in seed round

    January 26, 2023
    • Business
      • Agri-Business
      • Entrepreneurship
      • FDI
      • Legislative
      • MEA
      • Properties
      • Telecoms
    • Infrastructure
      • Airport
      • Hospitality
      • Ports
      • Power
      • Rail
      • Roads
      • Transport
    • Finance
      • Banking
      • Islamic finance
    • Commodities
      • Agri commodities
      • Metals & minerals
      • Precious metals
    • Culture & Society
      • Education
      • Energy
    GAR logo
    © GulfAfricaReview.com 2014-2022, All Rights Reserved.

    Gulf Africa Review is a trade news and future networking platform for businesses leaders and trade organisations, established to first inform and secondly assist in facilitating the ongoing business and trade relations between the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and Sub-Saharan Africa. We aim to provide an apolitical voice for this channel of economic activity in a way that benefits both geographies by improving the availability of information about market events, developments and opportunities, while publicising the successes achieved by this ever-broadening regional relationship.

      Subscribe to our newsletter

      Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.