The success of fintech companies, which are the fastest-growing start-up sector in Africa, is supported by several trends, including rising smartphone ownership, falling internet costs, expanded network coverage, as well as a young, rapidly expanding, and rapidly urbanizing population.
The fintech industry in Africa is expected to have considerable development and value creation even though investment has slowed in line with global trends.
According to a recent report by the consulting firm Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and global venture capital firm QED Investors, located in the US, the African fintech market is expected to grow by 13 times over the next few years, reaching $65 billion by 2030.
African innovators as well as investors cannot miss out on this fintech pie.
Along with Latin America, which is anticipated to experience an increase of 12.5, this will make it the region with the fastest growth in the globe.
Contrarily, revenues in North America will only grow by 4.4 times, even though they will continue to be much higher than those in the rest of the globe.
More than half of all Africans are either unbanked or underbanked, therefore cash is still king in most African marketplaces. This creates an opportunity for financial technology businesses to digitize payments.
The region’s nations have different rates of development, with Kenya leading the majority of them. Given that Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, and Egypt are the most desirable fintech markets due to their comparatively larger economies, superior technological infrastructure, and talent concentration, this may come as a surprise.
Currently, there are about 32,000 fintech companies globally. Fintechs have received more than $500 billion in capital during the last ten years. Since 2019, they have gotten almost 20% of all venture capital investments made worldwide, attracting a lot of money from investors outside the financial services industry, including generalists, private investors in technology, and hedge funds. Such funding was occasionally made possible by a flurry of speculative activity in sub-segments like cryptocurrency and the technologies that support it.
Sources: Fintech Control Tower, BCG analysis
Though revenue growth has continued (albeit more slowly), the fintech sector’s enthusiasm has been delivered a severe dose of reality since April 2022, with valuations falling by an average of more than 60% across all segments and regions.
The amount of new funding has dropped by 43%, with early-stage businesses still receiving venture capital infusions but later-stage businesses experiencing sharp declines in funding rounds. The most difficult problems were encountered by Series C+ firms.
The financial services sector continues to be ripe for disruption, which, among other things, makes the fundamentals of the fintech business robust despite the unsettling hiatus.
There is more than enough room for expansion in the fintech industry, particularly in Africa’s growing markets. Rising smartphone ownership, decreased internet data prices, increased internet bandwidth, urbanizing populations, and a large young population are driving factors for African fintech growth.
According to McKinsey, the fastest-growing fintech sectors in Africa are predicted to be blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies, payments, and wallets, with predicted compound annual growth rates of 50%, 20%, and 20% in 2020–25, respectively.
The Fintech Organization of Nigeria (FintechNGR), the premier national fintech organization in Africa, has reaffirmed its commitment to accelerAfrica,onnect, and advocate for the fintech ecosystem in Nigeria during its 6th Annual General Meeting (AGM).
Photos from the FintechNGR’s 6th AGM in Lagos
The AGM emphasized the organization’s commitment to stepping up lobbying efforts and encouraging regulator collaboration as it seeks to improve its Regulator Forum by closely collaborating with regulators to co-develop laws and frameworks that promote the expansion and innovation of the fintech sector.
Numerous innovative technologies, some of which border on the future, are either making their maiden forays into the fintech industry or expanding a nascent presence.
FintechNGR’s efforts can aid in broadening their horizons and gaining a strong grasp on their capabilities to best maximize their prospective use cases, not just in Nigeria but also throughout Africa.
