Over the past two decades, mobile money has grown into a cornerstone of African finance. Driven by innovation from telecom operators in a largely unbanked continent, the service has become essential for both personal and business use. With its full potential still untapped, mobile money is now attracting growing interest from new global financial players eager to capture a share of its rapid expansion.

Financial giants like Mastercard, Visa, and PayPal are aggressively investing in Africa's burgeoning mobile money sector, a market that has become a global leader in digital finance. With over one billion registered accounts in 2024, Africa accounts for more than 70% of global mobile money transactions, totaling $1.1 trillion, according to the GSM Association (GSMA).

This intense interest is driven by several factors: the market's rapid expansion, the opportunity to champion financial inclusion, the potential for e-commerce growth under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and the need to gain a competitive edge in a fast-evolving global landscape.

A Growing and Colossal Market

The market's sheer scale and momentum are the primary draws. In 2024, the volume and value of mobile money transactions grew by 22% and 15% respectively. Countries like Kenya, Ghana, and Côte d'Ivoire exemplify this transformation, with a large portion of their populations now using mobile phones for financial transactions.

In Kenya, mobile money subscriptions surged by 7.3% to 45.4 million users as of March 31, 2025, representing an 86.6% penetration rate. Ghana saw its registered accounts reach 74.1 million in early 2025, up from 66.9 million the previous year. Meanwhile, Côte d'Ivoire had 27.7 million active accounts as of March 31, 2025.

Companies like Mastercard have pursued numerous partnerships since 2019, including taking stakes in the fintech divisions of Airtel Africa and MTN Group. This strategy allows them to integrate into an ecosystem where traditional bank cards have struggled to gain traction. A 2021 report by BPC and Fincog noted that 57% of Africans were unbanked, with banking penetration rates in major economies like Nigeria, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of Congo hovering between 25% and 47%. In 2024 alone, Africa had 178 operational mobile money services with nearly 280 million monthly active accounts.

Visa has also made significant moves, signing an agreement with Safaricom in 2022 to facilitate international transactions via M-Pesa. Partnership activity accelerated in 2024, with Mastercard forging deals with MTN Group, Safaricom, and Orange Middle East and Africa (OMEA). JUMO, a digital banking platform, partnered with MTN Group to launch Qwikloan, a short-term lending facility for the South African market. In Ethiopia, Safaricom's M-Pesa teamed up with Dahabshiil to enable diaspora members to send money directly to mobile accounts. Globally, the fintech TerraPay established a Mobile Wallet Interoperability Council in Kenya, bringing together Airtel, bKash, MPESA, Nequi, and Sama Money.

A Driver for Financial Inclusion

Investors frequently cite financial inclusion as a key justification for their Africa strategy. At a partnership event with OMEA in October 2024, Amnah Ajmal, Mastercard's executive vice president for Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa, stated, "At Mastercard, we are committed to advancing financial inclusion by leveraging cutting-edge technology to create meaningful, scalable impact. Our collaboration with Orange Money represents a significant step in unlocking the full potential of digital financial services across Africa, enabling millions to participate in the global economy."

Similarly, when TPG acquired a 7.55% stake in Airtel Money for $200 million in March 2021, Yemi Lalude, a partner at The Rise Fund, emphasized, "Financial inclusion is a global issue that is most acute in Africa. Through Airtel Money, Airtel Africa has built a unique platform that is closing the gap between traditional financial institutions and the millions of unbanked Africans across the 14 countries where Airtel Africa operates." For these companies, integrating mobile money reduces transaction costs, increases transparency, and opens up new markets previously inaccessible to the traditional banking system.

The Digital Commerce Boom

Another key growth driver is the surge in online commerce. According to Nikulipe, a Lithuanian cross-border payments fintech, Africa's e-commerce market is projected to grow from $30.71 billion in 2024 to $45.72 billion by 2028, a nearly 49% increase. In its "Payments and E-commerce in Africa 2024" report, Nikulipe estimates that 40% of Africans will shop online in 2025, a significant rise from 24% in 2020 and just 13% in 2017.

This trend is fueled by a youthful population, rising smartphone and mobile internet penetration, and the growing adoption of digital payment methods like mobile money. With the implementation of the AfCFTA and ongoing digital transformation, online commercial transactions are expected to multiply, positioning mobile money to play a central role. Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, stated in July 2020, "Digital trade is possible through mobile phones. [...]It is a question of leveraging all those technological innovations and advantages into a common platform for free trade in Africa, under the AfCFTA agreement."

A Global Competitive Strategy

Ultimately, mobile money has become a critical front in the strategic competition among global electronic payment giants. Visa, Mastercard, TerraPay, and others are forging alliances and developing innovations to capture African markets, which are seen as a primary engine for growth in the coming decades.

The GSMA reports that global mobile money users made over $100 billion in merchant payments in 2024, a 21% increase from 2023. Sub-Saharan Africa alone accounts for two-thirds of these payments. In this environment, partnering with Africa's leading mobile money providers is a major asset for securing market share. Africa, once marginalized by conventional banking systems, is now emerging as a vibrant hub of global financial innovation.

Muriel Edjo