A joint report from BPC Banking Technology and Fincog estimates that 21 digital banks were active in Africa in 2021, with 80% of them concentrated in South Africa and Nigeria.

The “Digital Banking in Sub-saharan Africa” report made a list of the 10 largest neo banks by customer base across the continent in 2021. The document ranked South African Bettr first with 6.5 million customers. TymeBank, owned by South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe, comes second with 4 million clients; Nigerian Chipper Cash is third with 4 million customers, ahead of Nigerian Alat, which serves 1.5 customers. With its 1.1 million customers, Zazu is the first digital bank in Zambia and the fifth in the ranking. The rest are Kuda of Nigeria (1 million customers), Nigerian Carbon (659,000 customers), and Bank Zero of South Africa (500,000 customers) which are respectively 6th, 7th, and 8th in the ranking. Mama Money (South Africa) and Rubies (Nigeria) close the top 10 with 500,000 and 90,000 customers, respectively.

While Africa currently has 21 neo banks serving a total of more than 18 million customers, South Africa and Nigeria alone account for about 80% of the institutions. According to the report, over the period under review, mobile penetration was 47% in Nigeria against 61% in South Africa, while Internet penetration was 50% in Nigeria and 64% in South Africa.

Chamberline Moko