By Dipo Olowookere
Close to $100 million of fundraising has been injected already in 2018 into Africa’s bourgeoning fintech and mobile payments sector, with a significant amount of capital still to be deployed this year, and prospects for the sector looking bullish, according to telecom, media and tech news and events company, TMT Finance.
EMEA Editor at TMT Finance, Joseph d’Arrast, stated said, “The increasing demand for payment transaction and lending services are attracting investment from mobile operators, banks and international funds, all jostling to position themselves across the continent.
“These new initiatives also achieve inclusive goals set by international development finance institutions, which have been joining multiple fundraisings over the last twelve months.”
Demand for services are also tipped to see a large uptick: financial transactions made via the internet or a mobile phone are expected to grow from $200 million at the moment to an eyewatering $3 billion by 2020, according to a recent report by pan-African banking group Ecobank.
Regulation, access to reliable and affordable internet and the development of blockchain are also all key topics affecting Africa’s Fintech sector, according to d’Arrast.
“We expect B2B lending platforms and anti-fraud startups to attract most interest from investors. Venture capital funds are playing an important role – both local firms and international investors often originating from Europe or the USA,” he said.
With huge opportunities for fundraising and investment in the space, chief executives and leaders from Africa’s key fintech and payment companies will join a dedicated Mobile Payments & Fintech panel at TMT Finance Africa 2018 on Sep 19 in London to discuss investment strategies. Speakers on the session include: Chris Low, Group CEO, Letshego; Alix Murphy, Director of Mobile Partnerships, WorldRemit; Ercin Eksin, Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Lidya ; Rostan Schwab, Africa Head Fintech Investments, IFC; and Adia Sowho, VP Commercial / MD, Nigeria, Mines.io.
A deeper dive into how to grow and scale fintech companies in Africa will also take place earlier in the day at the conference on a dedicated breakout session, with CEOs and MDs represented from Verdant Capital, goAfrica, Strider, Transsnet Payments, MFS Africa Ltd, One Finance & Investment Limited and chaired by advisory firm Obsidian Occident.
Over 70 key speakers have been announced for the event, with CxOs and senior executives also confirmed from companies including Orange, IHS Towers, Econet Wireless, Millicom Africa, The Carlyle Group, Standard Bank, PAIX, East Africa Data Centre, Ethos Private Equity, Rack Centre, Jumia, Uber, Intelsat, Huawei, Credit Suisse and World Remit, among others.
Adedapo Adesanya