by In a landmark move set to reshape the African fintech landscape, Mastercard and payment solutions provider Enza have announced a strategic collaboration aimed at turbocharging innovation and financial inclusion across Africa.
This partnership comes at a pivotal moment, as the continent’s fintech sector experiences an unprecedented boom, with the number of fintech companies nearly tripling since 2020, according to a European Investment Bank report.
African Fintech: A Sector in Overdrive
The African fintech sector is witnessing explosive growth. In just four years, the number of fintech companies has soared from 450 in 2020 to 1,263 by early 2024, nearly tripling and fundamentally transforming access to financial services for millions.
This surge is driven by the need for innovative solutions that bypass traditional banking hurdles and reach underserved populations, primarily through mobile money, digital payments, and embedded financial services.
Also read: Top Fintech Companies in Africa
Mastercard and Enza: Powering the Next Wave of African Fintech
Through this collaboration, African fintech companies can now embed Mastercard payments directly into their digital solutions using Enza’s flexible platform. This means that startups and established players alike will be able to access Mastercard’s full suite of services, including issuing physical and virtual cards, configuring prepaid or postpaid accounts, and enabling secure payments for both consumers and businesses across in-store, online, and in-app channels.
Enza will host consumer and merchant accounts, manage integration with Mastercard’s global network, and ensure robust security and system reliability. This “plug-and-play” approach is designed to reduce complexity, cut time to market, and allow African fintech innovators to focus on what they do best: building solutions tailored to local needs.
“At Mastercard, we are focused on powering the fintech ecosystem by enabling access to our trusted global network. Through our work with Enza, fintech innovators in Africa will be able to deploy embedded payment capabilities more efficiently—helping accelerate financial inclusion and the region’s digital transformation,” said Mete Guney, Executive Vice President, Market Development, EEMEA, Mastercard.
“Enza is on a mission to make digital payments more accessible and affordable across Africa, helping to build a more financially inclusive continent that is ready and able to compete globally,” added Andrew Key, Executive Director, Enza.
Also read: Top 10 African Countries Leading in Private Sector Investments
African Fintech Adoption: A Digital Payments Powerhouse
Africa’s embrace of fintech is nothing short of transformative. The continent now accounts for nearly 70% of global mobile money transactions, and digital finance is expanding at a far more rapid rate than traditional banking.
With a young, tech-savvy population and high mobile penetration, fintech adoption is driving financial inclusion on a large scale. The Mastercard-commissioned Genesis Analytics report projects Africa’s digital payments economy will reach a staggering $1.5 trillion by 2030.
Key trends fueling African fintech adoption include:
- Mobile Money Dominance: Platforms like M-Pesa and Wave are revolutionizing payments, particularly in East Africa and the Francophone region.
- Cross-Border Payments: New fintechs are solving the continent’s $100 billion remittance market challenges with seamless, affordable solutions.
- Embedded Finance: Startups are enabling businesses to integrate financial services via APIs, expanding fintech’s reach beyond dedicated apps.
- Financial Inclusion: Digital solutions are bridging the gap for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which make up over 90% of African businesses but are often excluded from formal financial systems.
Also read: Nigeria’s Tech Revolution: Leading the Way in African Startups
The Road Ahead: Challenges and Opportunities
While African fintech is thriving, challenges remain. Access to financing, high customer acquisition costs, and regulatory hurdles persist. Yet, the Mastercard-Enza alliance is a significant step toward overcoming these barriers by providing the infrastructure, security, and scale needed for fintechs to succeed and expand.
As Africa’s population surges toward 2.5 billion by 2050, the Mastercard and Enza partnership signals a new era for African fintech—one where innovation, inclusion, and digital transformation go hand in hand.
The collaboration between Mastercard and Enza is not just a business deal—it’s a catalyst for the next chapter of African fintech, empowering innovators to deliver secure, accessible, and impactful financial solutions across the continent.
Also read: Tech Adoption in Kenya: A Transformative Journey
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