Kenyan fintech Wave, Nigerian founders scale payments and expand regional financial inclusion
Kenyan and West African fintech founders are taking center stage in Africa’s startup news as firms look to scale payments and lending – and disrupt financial service markets – across the continent. Startups like Wave – which serves Senegal and is set to enter other Francophone countries – Flutterwave and Interswitch, among others, are seeing significant levels of investment as investors look to the transaction volume these firms facilitate and their access to both local and international banking partners. Regulators, meanwhile, are looking to get a handle on liquidity, and what impact aggregators might have on the flow of currency in and out of the continent.
Meanwhile, founders are looking to diversify into other financial services beyond simple payments and money transfer. Using data gathered from their transactions, many are looking to offer small business loans that target informal sector workers, as well as mobile savings accounts and “pay as you go” financial products that offer more flexibility than traditional mobile money accounts. African tech directories and top founder lists tend to focus on those at the forefront of the innovation in Lagos, Nairobi, Accra, and Casablanca, and signal a growing trend of women fintech founders, especially in healthtech and agritech. Nevertheless, a lack of infrastructure and liquidity across much of Africa limits the reach of most fintechs – and the variable regulatory environment can make obtaining licenses both time consuming and confusing for firms trying to operate across multiple markets.
With that said, there is reason to believe that many of the firms mentioned in this piece will consolidate their position as major players in fintech and digital financial services in the years to come. For now, the narrative around African icons is one of both rapid growth and increased engagement with regulators to promote a more unified approach to financial markets across Africa.
