Fintech in Africa to reach US$ 3 billion by 2020

Fintech in Africa to grow from around US$ 200 million currently to US$ 3 billion by 2020, according to Nshuti Lucy Mbabazi, Assistant Vice President, Push Payments for the Ecobank Group.

A statement she made at the Africa Tech summit currently taking place in Kigali, Rwanda where she would be take part in a panel looking at delivering a cashless society in Africa. According to Ecobank, “millions of people in Africa now have access to financial systems thanks to cashless systems using digital technology, and more and more people are seeing the benefits of mobile banking.”

Africa is now at the forefront of fintech with 57.6% of the world’s 174 million active registered mobile money accounts (100.1 million) in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Rwanda, where the summit is taking place, has the second highest use of mobiles in Africa, with more than 50% of the population unique subscribers. Kenya has the highest penetration rate of almost 60% of the population.

“For instance, Rwanda, where the summit is taking place, is seeking to move from a cash-based economy to a digital one. The number of digital transactions in Rwanda increased by 11 per cent in the first half of 2017 from 1.37 million the previous year to 1.53 million in the same period, and more and more merchants and dealers are becoming access points,” said Mbabazi.

“Rwanda has had a 26% growth in the volume of transactions from 8.6 million to 119 million in 2016/17, representing an increase of a third in value from Rwf 469 billion to Rwf 622 billion. Point of sale (POS) transactions in Rwanda have almost doubled in volume from 270,084 to 523,473, doubling the cash value to Rwf 32 billion.”