Revealed in World Bank’s Global Findex 2025 report, 40% of adults in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) saved money formally in 2024, a 16 percentage point surge since 2021, the fastest growth in over a decade. 

Sub-Saharan Africa, home to the world’s most active mobile money users, recorded a 12-point jump in formal savings, reaching 35% of adults.

In Nigeria, Mobile money operators, including OPay, PalmPay, and Paga, processed transactions valued at ₦71.5 trillion between January and December 2024, according to Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) data. 

This represents a 53.4% increase from ₦46.6 trillion recorded in 2023, stressing how mobile-based financial services are penetrating both urban and rural populations.

“Digital finance can convert this potential into reality,” said Ajay Banga, president of the World Bank Group. “We’re helping countries get their people access to new or improved digital IDs, modernising payment systems, and removing regulatory roadblocks—so that people and businesses have the financing they need to innovate and create jobs.”

Even with these advances, the global unbanked population is at 1.3 billion adults. Shockingly, more than half of this figure, around 650 million people, are concentrated in just eight countries: Nigeria, Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico, and Pakistan.

Women account for 55% of the unbanked globally. The poorest households are also disproportionately excluded, with 52% of the unbanked population drawn from the lowest 40% income bracket. Education is a factor too, 62% of unbanked adults have only primary-level education or less.

Interestingly, mobile technology could help narrow this gap. The World Bank found that approximately 900 million of the unbanked own a mobile phone, and over half of them, about 530 million, have smartphones, showing potential for future financial access through digital channels.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, mobile money is the main driver of financial inclusion. Today, 15% of adults globally own mobile money accounts, a figure much higher within Africa. The region continues to lead in mobile wallet usage globally.

Bill Gates, chair of the Gates Foundation, highlighted the progress: “More people than ever have the financial tools to invest in their futures and build economic resilience, including women and others previously left behind. This is real progress.”

For women in LMICs, account ownership has nearly doubled over the past decade, rising from 37% in 2011 to 73% in 2024. Globally, account ownership among women now stands at 77% compared to 81% among men.

Regional breakdowns reveal sharp contrasts:

• In Sub-Saharan Africa, account ownership increased from 49% in 2021 to 58% in 2024.
• South Asia now reports 80% account ownership, with India leading, 90% of both men and women there now own financial accounts.
• Middle East and North Africa saw account ownership climb to 53%, up from 45% in 2021, though formal savings remain at just 17%.
• East Asia and the Pacific lead with smartphone ownership at 86% and account access at 83%.

In Nigeria specifically, fintech and mobile money platforms are driving financial access into underserved markets. Operators like OPay, PalmPay, and Moniepoint are expanding transaction volumes and also opening millions of mobile wallets for the financially excluded.

However, phone ownership gaps are a challenge. Only nine LMICs report mobile phone ownership below 65%, yet disparities persist among women and the poorest households. In South Asia alone, over 300 million women remain without mobile phones, with affordability noted as the primary reason.

Real-time digital payment systems like India’s UPI and Brazil’s PIX are being spotlighted as models that could help bridge financial access gaps. These systems enable low-cost, instant transactions, offering blueprints for African and other LMIC policymakers.

In the words of the World Bank: “The impact that mobile phones and the internet are having extends not only to account ownership, but also to potentially productive uses, including saving formally and making or receiving digital payments.”

In summary, mobile money has become an important tool for financial inclusion across Africa, especially in Nigeria. But the digital divide means millions are still locked out of financial systems.

The post W’Bank: Mobile Money Drives 40% Formal Savings in Developing Nations but 1.3bn Adults Still Unbanked appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

The cash deal, which gives BAS Group over 50% ownership, will enable the company to strengthen its presence in the country’s fragmented small and medium enterprise (SME) lending market.

All of Zuvy’s institutional investors have exited. Co-founders Angel Onuoha and Ahmad Shehu retain minority stakes but are no longer involved in daily operations. BAS Group now assumes full operational control of Zuvy, integrating it into its broader financial services architecture.

The acquisition is a structural change and BAS Group is targeting Nigeria’s massive credit gap, estimated at $236 billion, that continues to limit small business growth.

Startup Zuvy Raises $4.5 Million to Revolutionize SME Invoice Financing in Africa

Through the incorporation of Zuvy’s invoice-discounting model, BAS can now offer SME credit without traditional collateral, leveraging verified invoices as a basis for lending.

“Think of the Zuvy platform as another add-on under our finance arm,” said Abdulateef Hussein, CEO and founder of BAS Group. “It’s going to be very seamless for us because it’s just a new product added to our lending offerings.”

This model isn’t entirely new, but Zuvy had managed to build a credible vendor pipeline, offering short-term (60 to 90-day) loans against invoices verified by large corporate buyers. 

With partners like Dangote, Rite Foods, and Eat n’ Go, Zuvy’s network gave BAS Group an efficient route to expand its SME loan book while reducing lending risk. Hussein noted that, “Most SMEs in Nigeria don’t have real estate or collateral, and even when they do, the approval process is long.”

Zuvy’s strategy wasn’t always sustainable. Initially a direct lender, the startup struggled with scalability as it depended heavily on external fundraising. That model changed when the team pivoted to loan origination, enabling partnerships with financiers while sacrificing some control over loan disbursement. 

This resulted in Zuvy scaling its portfolio tenfold. But growth alone wasn’t enough to keep the founders at the helm.

“Zuvy was profitable at the time of acquisition,” Onuoha confirmed, even as he and Shehu stepped away to focus on their new venture, Avelis Health, which was accepted into Y Combinator’s Summer 2025 cohort. 

“When you’re doing direct lending, you have full control over the exact types of loans you want to disburse, but it relies on constant fundraising to actually scale your loan book,” he added.

Their exit was premeditated. The two officially disengaged from Zuvy in March. Their new startup, Avelis Health, tackles complex medical billing in the United States, an idea born from personal experience. “I’ve had a chronic knee injury for the past decade,” Onuoha said. 

“In the US, medical billing is an extremely complex system. Oftentimes, when you go to the hospital, you’re massively overcharged, and your bills are full of errors. I wanted to find a way to help patients push back against those bills and give them the tools to actually pay fair prices for the care they receive.”

Meanwhile, BAS is moving ahead. In 2025, the group launched BAS Finance Company with a set of products including payroll loans, vehicle-backed loans, and collateral-based SME lending. 

But many businesses fell through the cracks. The Zuvy acquisition fills that gap, offering alternative credit lines for vendors who can’t meet traditional loan requirements but have solid invoice histories with blue-chip firms.

BAS currently manages a ₦1.5 billion loan book and plans to integrate Zuvy’s tech-driven platform to scale distribution. According to the group, no layoffs are expected, and Zuvy’s product and development teams will continue under BAS management. The integration will be led by Kayode Adnan, BAS Group’s COO.

This aligns with BAS Group’s longer-term strategy of building a seamless ecosystem of financial services. Already holding stakes in a microfinance bank and a licensed microinsurance company (ALLYCare and ALLY Microinsurance), the group is layering these services to deliver bundled offerings; banking, health cover, invoice financing, under one roof.

“We are excited about this acquisition,” Hussein said. “A lot of the infrastructure is ready. It is just for us to scale it with our capital and institutional relationships in the market. A lot of the repayments we will be receiving will now be channelled through the Zuvy platform.”

The post BAS Group Acquires Majority Stake in Zuvy to Expand SME Lending Footprint appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.