Africa: where payments are unlocking digital commerce
Emerging markets like Africa offer higher growth rates, new users, and an untapped market opportunity for global companies, which are starting to keep an eye on the region and target African countries in their expansion plans.
Africa embraces digital payments
Cash started to become digitized in Africa even before the internet, through technology on SIM cards that allowed people to transfer and receive money using basic phones – the genesis of mobile money. It was the first-ever account for many Africans, pushing financial inclusion in the continent in an affordable, accessible direction. These digital payments slowly expanded to P2P (person-to-person) transfers, remittances, and merchant payments, in a mobile-led revolution.
Today, Africa has a significant level of digital payment penetration, reaching about a third of the population across the continent and almost half in Sub-Saharan Africa. This is higher than in many major developing economies, including India, Mexico, and Indonesia.
Young population to fuel digital market in Africa
The young, digital-savvy African consumer is keen on digital products and services. The median age in Africa is 18 years old, compared to 38 in North America and 42 in Europe. Many of them bypass the "sorry, this content is not available in your region" message by using VPN services to unlock streaming, gaming, and other digital subscriptions still unavailable on the continent. Sports fans also turn to VPN to watch rugby and major competitions like the World Cup – mostly on their smartphones.
The opportunity is even higher
for digital industries
African markets should record a double-digit growth in digital industries over the next five years. While Africa still only accounts for a small share of the global digital market (between 0.5% and 4%), it will "continue to see growth thanks to improved mobile internet infrastructure, affordable access to the internet, and the growing number of smartphone users."
Growing internet access should boost the African digital market in the upcoming years
By 2030, the internet penetration in the region will reach an average of nearly 70%, according to Euromonitor – a considerable jump from 45% in 2023. Markets such as South Africa, Ghana, Morocco, and Egypt are pushing the rates up, with over 75% of the population already connected to the internet.
The role of payments in unlocking
digital commerce in Africa
Payments are critical to unleashing the potential of this continental market, connecting digital players to a 1 billion people market.
In this report, you will find:
The payment landscape in Africa over the last years
Which countries are more promising for the international market
Payment methods penetration in African countries
Which cross-border payment solutions are the best to expand in African market
Local consumer’s behaviors in each African country
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