Friday
July 29
2022

Kenya and Ghana Are Front-Lining the Global Mobile Money Market

By Oluwatosin Ogunjuyigbe

The ‘Africa Rising’ narrative has been quite controversial over the years. However, although the continent still has a mountain to climb, some sectors have made commendable growth, mobile money being one of them.

Africa now accounts for 70 percent of the world’s $1 trillion mobile money value. The value of Africa’s mobile money transactions grew 39 percent to $701.4 billion in 2021 from $495 billion in 2020, according to GSMA.

This narrative is pivotal, seeing that a study by the World Bank indicates that mobile money services positively impact poverty reduction. Poverty is not just about lack of money but also lack of access to formal financial systems. Even more interesting is how a report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG), an American research firm, found that Kenya and Ghana have the second and third highest mobile payment usage globally, after China.

BCG’s report also states that transactions via mobile wallets and phones were the equivalent of 87 percent of GDP in Kenya and 82 percent in Ghana. However, both countries spent years crossing several hurdles to become global fintech giants.

Photo courtesy of Simon Berry.

Source: Ventures Africa (link opens in a new window)

Categories
Finance, Technology
Tags
financial inclusion, fintech