Kigali will host Africa’s fintech industry in November as the Africa Fintech Summit brings founders, investors, financial institutions and regulators together to examine how the sector can scale across national borders. The November 18–20 event will focus on payment interoperability, cross-border commerce, lending, financial inclusion and digital infrastructure — areas that increasingly define the next phase of Africa’s fintech development.
The timing reflects a broader shift. Africa has already built one of the world’s largest digital-payment ecosystems, but the next challenge is turning widespread access to mobile money into deeper financial participation.
A June 2026 report by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, Affinity Africa and Yale University's International Leadership Center found that Africa accounts for 74% of global mobile-money transaction volume, with $1.1 trillion processed across 1.1 billion accounts in 2024. Yet more than 90% of mobile-money value is withdrawn immediately after receipt, showing how strongly cash remains embedded in everyday economic activity.
This creates a different challenge for fintech companies. Expanding access to digital wallets is no longer enough if users continue to move most of their money back into cash. The next stage is about making digital finance more useful for saving, borrowing, receiving payments, managing businesses and conducting transactions across borders.
Lending is emerging as one part of that transition. In August, MTN Group said it was exploring banking licenses in selected markets as it seeks to expand lending from its own balance sheet. The telecom operator currently provides loans through partnerships with banks, but CEO Ralph Mupita said lending had become one of the fastest-growing areas of its mobile-money business.
Cross-border expansion presents another test. African fintech companies still face fragmented regulatory and payment systems when they move between markets. Rwanda, Kenya and Ghana have begun addressing part of that problem through payment-service-provider license passporting arrangements. In March, the National Bank of Rwanda and the Central Bank of Kenya signed an agreement allowing eligible providers licensed in one jurisdiction to operate in the other under a recognition framework, building on Rwanda’s earlier agreement with Ghana.
That regional approach will feature prominently in Kigali. The summit’s program includes sessions on passporting and interoperability, continental payment rails, lending and financial inclusion, as well as cross-border commerce and AfCFTA.
The social impact of this transition could extend beyond faster payments. For households, keeping more money within digital systems can create pathways to savings and formal financial services. For small businesses, interoperable payments and digital lending could make it easier to receive money, access financing and trade across borders.
But Africa’s continued reliance on cash shows that infrastructure alone will not solve the problem. The next phase of fintech will depend on whether digital services become cheaper, more reliable and more useful than cash — and whether fragmented national systems can be connected into a financial network that works across the continent.
