Africa has emerged as the fastest-growing FinTech market globally, with industry revenues projected to surge 13-fold to about $65 billion by 2030, according to a new report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
The report, titled “Beyond Payments: Unlocking Africa’s Second FinTech Wave,” was unveiled on the sidelines of the Inclusive FinTech Forum in Kigali, a gathering increasingly regarded as a key platform for regulators, financial institutions, and investors shaping the continent’s financial architecture.
BCG noted that while Africa already accounts for 74 per cent of global mobile money transaction volumes, the next phase of growth will be driven less by transaction scale and more by financial depth, institutional frameworks, and long-term investment readiness.
According to the report, the first wave of FinTech innovation across the continent successfully expanded access to digital payments, with over 40 per cent of adults in Sub-Saharan Africa now using mobile money platforms. However, it observed that even in more advanced markets, over half of lending activities still occur through informal or semi-formal channels, highlighting a significant structural gap.
This development, analysts say, has shifted attention toward business-to-business payments, government-led digitisation, interoperable credit systems, and data-driven underwriting models as the core drivers of the sector’s second growth phase.
BCG maintained that although Africa has achieved scale in digital finance, the immediate challenge lies in translating that scale into sustainable, institutional-grade growth capable of attracting long-term capital. Markets that offer regulatory clarity, interoperable infrastructure, and stable operating conditions are increasingly drawing investor interest.
Across parts of the continent, these enabling conditions are gradually taking shape, triggering a shift in capital flows beyond early-stage FinTech ventures to more mature, long-term investment opportunities.
The report cited Rwanda as a model of deliberate institutional coordination, noting that the country’s forward-looking regulatory environment, interoperable digital infrastructure, and cross-border orientation have significantly reduced the cost of scaling financial services.
Recent initiatives such as the Licence Passporting Memorandum of Understanding between Rwanda and Kenya were highlighted as practical steps toward easing regional expansion and improving cross-border payment and credit flows.
The report further underscored the role of financial centres such as the Kigali International Financial Centre (KIFC) in advancing Africa’s FinTech ecosystem, noting that coordinated regulation and infrastructure help reduce uncertainty for banks, FinTech firms, and investors, while positioning markets as credible long-term investment destinations.
As the ecosystem matures, BCG observed a gradual transition from consumer-focused peer-to-peer models to infrastructure-driven opportunities aligned with banks, development finance institutions, and long-duration private capital.
It added that innovations such as interoperable payment switches, artificial intelligence-powered credit models, open banking frameworks, and clearer licensing regimes are helping to reduce fragmentation and enhance investability across African markets.
The report also pointed out that financial institutions are set to play a central role in the next phase of growth, as banks and regulated entities increasingly become primary users of digital financial infrastructure, demanding solutions aligned with their balance sheets, risk frameworks, and regulatory obligations.
To sustain momentum, BCG identified key priorities, including the expansion of interoperable infrastructure to enable seamless transactions across wallets, banks, and payment switches; the adoption of data-driven credit systems to unlock financing for small and medium-sized enterprises; and the implementation of coherent regulatory frameworks to reduce operational uncertainty.
It further emphasised the need to strengthen cybersecurity and consumer protection mechanisms to build trust and ensure resilience as digital adoption deepens across the continent.
While Africa has already demonstrated its ability to scale FinTech innovation, the report concluded that the next phase of growth will depend on the strength of its institutional foundations, with markets that successfully address these factors expected to shape the continent’s financial system over the next decade.
