Headline, January 26 2024/ ''' AFRICA'S FINTECH AFFAIRS '''

''' AFRICA'S FINTECH

 AFFAIRS '''

! FIRST AND FOREMOST ! : The World Students Society - for every subject in the world - is the exclusive and eternal ownership of every student of Africa, just as it is the exclusive and eternal ownership of every student in the world.

SOME ESTIMATES PUT THE NUMBER of Fintech companies in Africa at over 2,500, providing online payments, in-person point-of-sales payments, retail lending, wealth management, insurance, open banking and crypto services.

McKinsey, a consultancy estimates that the total revenue of fintechs in 2020 was $4 billion - $6 billion. The GSM Association, an industry body, estimates there are 621 million mobile-money accounts in Africa.

Overall, the mobile economy has created more than 300,000 jobs directly, and 1.1 million indirectly, across the continent. Cash is still King in Africa, used in 90% of all transactions.

!CHALLENGING KING CASH! : AFRICA IS THE WORLD'S SECOND LARGEST and second most-populous continent - yet it remains more than a decade behind the world in financial services.

Fully 57% of Africans do not have a bank account; plenty of them in larger economies.

IN NIGERIA, the continent's most populous country, the figure is 60%. IN MOROCCO, 71%; but in KENYA, thanks in part to the success of M-Pesa, a popular mobile-money service, it is 18%. Cash is still king in Africa, used in 90% of all transactions.

African banks have been trying to deal with the problems of access to finance and the use of cash but have not been successful at retail banking. This is primarily because of inefficient banking processes that do not make it easy for ordinary people to use them.

In some countries, the regulatory requirements for banks make it expensive to serve African consumers with low-earning power, GDP per person in Africa is the weakest of any continent. This is where fintechs have stepped in with innovative approaches that can serve a mass consumer base at lower cost.

It is still early days for fintech in Africa, but the signs are good. The middle-class is expanding, and the needs of the consumers are increasing. They want alternative ways to pay conveniently, to access loans for everything from rent or home purchases to cars, and to increase their wealth.

Small and medium-sized enterprises [SMES], the lifeblood of any economy, want to digitise their businesses and are looking beyond traditional banks for the finance they need to grow.

Fintech in Africa has a different flavour from that in the West, as market dynamics differ. In today's Africa, smartphone penetrations remains low [ just 37% in Nigeria], data costs are high [ 1 gb of mobile data costs as much as $1.82 in Nigeria, compared with $0.12 in Italy], and there are still significant numbers who are not online.

Data from the International Telecommunication Union suggests that approximately 75% of sub-Saharan Africa still does not have access to or use the Internet. To succeed, companies must implement a hybrid-online-offline business model that meets customers wherever they are.

The early financial-companies in Africa focused on essential financial services and had to build their own infrastructure, as none existed.

This included digital wallets that work with or without mobile data connectivity to banks and companies to allow for seamless money transfers and bill payments; and a physical retail distribution network that relies on local shopkeepers to give people access to financial services at neighborhood stores.

Companies such as Fawry, Interswitch, M-Pesa, MTN, Orange, Page and Wave led the way. These firms have successfully transformed the economies in which they operate.

They have demonstrated the gains to be had in financial inclusion, economic growth and job creation.

They have also built the financial-services foundation upon which these same companies and newer entrants will deliver the next generation of more advanced offerings.

As we have seen in Asia and Latin America, there will be an explosion of startups that build upon the fintech infrastructure created over the past few years in Africa.

This will help create more jobs and accelerate economic growth. An exciting future, built on the transformative impact of fintech, awaits Africa and its students.

! Fintech in Africa looks different from fintech in the West, with a hybrid model that serves customers wherever they are !.

The Honour and Serving of the Latest Global Operational Research on Africa, Students, Jobs, Technology and the Future, continues. The World Students Society thanks The Economist.

With most respectful dedication to the Leaders, Students, Professors and Teachers of Africa and then the world.

See You all prepare for Great Global Elections on !WOW! - the exclusive and eternal ownership of every student in the world : wssciw.blogcpot.com and Twitter X !E-WOW! - The Ecosystem 2011 :

Good Night and God Bless

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