• 23% of adults in Sub-Saharan Africa saved money using mobile accounts in 2024, well above the 9% average in low- and middle-income countries.

• Mobile money accounts now fuel nearly 60% of formal borrowing in the region, with Kenya leading in digital lending.

• Mobile payments grew rapidly, but only 20% of mobile money users pay merchants digitally.

Mobile money accounts are revolutionizing financial access in Sub-Saharan Africa. Traditional banks have long struggled to reach rural and low-income populations. However, mobile money now enables millions to save, borrow, and make payments through formal channels.

The World Bank reported on July 16, 2025, that 23% of adults in Sub-Saharan Africa saved money via mobile accounts in 2024. This rate far surpasses the 9% average across all low- and middle-income countries. The report, The Global Findex Database 2025: Connectivity and Financial Inclusion in the Digital Economy, highlights significant progress in mobile financial services.

In five countries—Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, Uganda, and Zambia—around half of adults saved with mobile money accounts. Overall, 40% of adults in Sub-Saharan Africa had a mobile money account in 2024, up from 27% just three years earlier. This surge drives growth for mobile network operators like MTN Group, Orange, Vodacom, Airtel Africa, and Safaricom.

The rise in mobile savings pushed total savings in the region to its highest point in a decade. The World Bank’s survey, covering 145,000 adults across 141 countries, found formal savings in Sub-Saharan Africa increased by 12 percentage points since 2021 to 35%. This figure is the second-highest globally, trailing only East Asia and the Pacific.

About 60% of adults now save formally or informally, up from just over 50% in 2021.

Mobile Money Accounts for Nearly 60% of Formal Borrowing

Mobile money also dominates formal borrowing. In low- and middle-income countries, 40% of adults saved formally last year via bank or mobile accounts. Formal saving rose over 23 percentage points since 2011, helping finance national investments and economic growth.

Yet, only 12% of adults in Sub-Saharan Africa borrowed formally in 2024, below the 24% global average for similar economies. Among them, 7% borrowed from mobile money providers, who account for nearly 60% of all formal borrowing in the region.

Kenya leads the mobile borrowing scene. There, 32% of adults borrowed from mobile money providers, representing 86% of formal borrowers. A quarter of these borrowed exclusively this way.

On payments, 80% of mobile money account holders use their accounts for digital payments. However, only 20% use mobile money to pay merchants directly.

Mobile money’s rise is reshaping Africa’s financial landscape—expanding inclusion, unlocking savings, and creating new ways to borrow.

Walid Kéfi