Mark Afolabi

Now Open on Circle Payments Network: Nigeria (Naira) Payouts Yellow Card is now live on Circle Payments Network with real-time NGN payouts. This unlocks faster, compliant settlement for remittances, payroll, gig economy, and trade finance use cases in one of Africa’s most important markets. With CPN, Yellow Card gains greater reach and bring USDC into everyday use. A new corridor is open. New possibilities are in motion.

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“FMVA gave me the toolkit I needed to lead in finance.” — Milerde, CFI Member After a decade in frontline banking, Milerde Ivo Armando, FMVA, AFM, felt it was time for a change. He was ready to step into more strategic roles but needed the right technical skills. That’s when he found the FMVA. Through hands-on modeling, valuation, and data visualization training, he gained the skills and confidence to break into investment banking in Mozambique. Now he’s helping lead complex deals in energy and infrastructure across southern Africa. 🔷 From relationship management to investment banking. 🔷 From self-doubt to technical leadership. 🔷 From online learning to real-world impact. This is what upskilling looks like when you learn with purpose. Listen to Milerde’s full story on our latest episode of FinPod! #FMVA #CFIMemberSpotlight #FinanceCareers #InvestmentBanking #FinancialModeling #CareerGrowth #CorporateFinance #Upskilling #CFICertified

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To increase merchant acceptance of digital payments in Sub-Saharan Africa, payment systems must be redesigned to fit the realities of micro and small businesses. This includes restructuring merchant fees—such as tiered pricing with free transactions up to certain thresholds—and simplifying onboarding and verification processes. Additionally, digital payment providers should offer more value than just transaction convenience by including tools for payroll, supplier payments, and cash flow management - making digital payments a business enabler rather than just a cost. Current digital payment models impose prohibitive costs and operational frictions on merchants, who typically operate with thin margins and informal structures. High fees, complex processes, and concerns about tax scrutiny make cash a more attractive option.  As a result, only 20% of adults in Sub-Saharan Africa made a digital merchant payment in 2024! Addressing these barriers can unlock the vast potential of Africa’s merchant sector, supporting economic growth, poverty reduction, and financial inclusion (by bringing more people and businesses into the formal financial system). It would enable more efficient, transparent, and innovative economic activity across the continent. Read more at: https://lnkd.in/dzybd838 by Rashmi Pillai, Natalie Baatjies, Xavier Faz.

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At the Global SME Finance Forum 2025 in Johannesburg, M2P Fintech will host an exclusive closed-door session on September 15, featuring co-founder Madhusudanan R, to explore AI-Driven Lending and Payments: Reimagining Financial Services for Africa’s Future. The closed-door dialogue is set to unlock how AI-led innovation can accelerate inclusive growth, redefine payments, and enable next-gen lending experiences across emerging markets. Yogeshwar Shivshankar | Wael Azar | Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN) | IFC - International Finance Corporation #SMEFinanceForum #SMEs #FinancialInclusion #M2P #M2PFintech

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The Bumpa management tool is helping business owners grow their sales, manage inventory, and streamline operations, all while selling online. In this video, CEO Kelvin Umechukwu and Bumpa merchants talk about how fast, reliable payments make it easy to receive instant payments and keep scaling.

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Ghana’s banking and fintech sector is scaling rapidly. In 2024, mobile money transactions crossed USD 257 billion, highlighting the country’s deep shift toward digital finance. With internet penetration at 69.9%, mobile connectivity exceeding 110%, and the Bank of Ghana’s progressive regulatory sandbox paving the way since 2022, the conditions for even greater innovation and growth have never been stronger. But while the market is primed, many financial institutions still lack the technical infrastructure to capitalize on these opportunities efficiently and at scale, as Saqib Nazir, CEO of Mojo Payments Limited, notes. This is exactly where Digibanc BaaS 2.0 comes in. Built to eliminate complexity, shorten deployment timelines, and reduce costs, the platform empowers a market of over 600 financial institutions and credit unions in Ghana with a long-term, sustainable foundation and sets the stage to expand across Africa. Read more about Digibanc BaaS 2.0: https://lnkd.in/dtmRvRWR #BaaS2 #MojoPay #CodebaseTechnologies #Digibanc #FinancialInclusion #Ghana #Fintech #DigitalBanking

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Kredete (Techstars 2023), a Nigerian fintech that helps African immigrants build credit and access financial services, has raised $22M in Series A! 💳 Founded by Adeola Adedewe, the company connects everyday financial activities like remittances and rent payments to a credit score, helping immigrants access loans, mortgages, and other services in the US, Canada, and the UK. "Our vision is simple: if you support your family financially, that should count toward your creditworthiness. This raise is about scaling that infrastructure globally and making sure that millions of Africans abroad are finally seen, scored, and served." - Adeola Adedewe Since launch, Kredete has reached over 700K monthly users, facilitated $500 million in remittances, and helped raise users’ U.S. credit scores by an average of 58 points. 🔗 Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/e4yYaG5N Monica Wheat

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If you’ve ever been dazzled by Kenya’s fintech reputation, you’ve probably heard the fairy tale: “Mobile money is everywhere, M-PESA Africa runs the economy, and Kenyans love borrowing digitally, all you need to do is plug in and watch the loans roll out.” That fairy tale has bankrupted more than a few ambitious lenders. Let’s break it down. Yes, Kenya has one of the most mature digital lending markets in Africa. Mobile money penetration is over 96%, smartphone adoption is strong, and people are comfortable borrowing in small amounts for everyday needs. But that also means you’re stepping into an ecosystem where: > SACCOs dominate with decades of trust and deep community roots. > Mobile lenders like Tala and Branch International have set borrower expectations for instant disbursement. > Banks are aggressively pushing their own digital microloans through mobile channels. If you think your product will stand out just because it’s digital, think again. The only way to survive here is to differentiate either on speed, niche targeting, or a borrower experience that is visibly superior. Secondly, Kenya’s Central Bank is one of the few regulators on the continent that actually enforces licensing and borrower protection with teeth. Since 2022, all digital lenders must be licensed, and the CBK has rejected dozens of applications for failing to meet disclosure, governance, and ethical collection standards. If you show even a hint of harassment in your collections, misreport borrower data, or hide your interest rates in fine print, you can be shut down and publicly named in the media. Third, M-Pesa is both the magic and minefield of Kenyan lending. It makes onboarding and repayment ridiculously easy because funds can be disbursed and repaid in seconds, and you don’t need to convince borrowers to adopt a new payment channel. But that same fluidity means borrowers can shuffle funds between multiple lenders before you even blink. And in a market where digital loans have been part of daily life for over a decade, borrowers are not impressed by “first-time lender” mistakes. They expect: > Loan applications under 2 minutes. > Disbursement in under 60 seconds. > Flexible repayment options. > Transparent, upfront costs with no surprise deductions. If you can’t deliver this consistently, word spreads fast, and you’ll lose them to a competitor who can. The lenders thriving in Kenya have something in common: they’ve mastered the trifecta of speed, compliance, and risk control. With Lendsqr, we’ve helped Kenyan lenders build: > Lightning-fast onboarding that doesn’t ask for data you don’t need, > Real-time credit scoring that works with Kenya’s unique mix of CRB data, mobile money patterns, and behavioral insights, and > Collections baked into the product from day one with M-Pesa direct debits, repayment reminders that actually work, and analytics to spot risky borrowers early. So no, it’s not enough to have capital, a lending license, and an app.

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Banking glitches and cashless chaos have driven more Nigerians toward OPay and PalmPay. That steady shift helped push mobile money transactions to ₦20.71 trillion ($13.49 billion) in Q1 2025, a 1,518% jump from Q1 2021, according to NIBSS. Yet Mobile Money volumes are still dwarfed by the ₦284.99 trillion pushed through instant transfers in the same quarter. Can OPay and PalmPay close the gap? We answer this question in this week’s edition of Follow the Money. Click the link🔗 below to read.  👉 https://lnkd.in/dnDBUX8R 

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SARB just became a 50% Owner of BankservAfrica. South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has taken a major stake in BankservAfrica. And Bankserv has now rebranded as PayInc SA. But who are they? They're the core engine behind SA’s payment systems. Think of BankservAfrica as the national railway for digital payments – it handles everything from card transactions and EFTs to real-time platforms like PayShap SA. Now, with SARB acquiring them, SARB isn’t just the regulator, they'll also be the co-owner and modernizer of that railway. It's like the government is making sure the train goes to underserved towns (the unbanked), and the train keeps "running" smoothly. 🔁 But why is SARB stepping in? Interoperability: They want to ensure all payment systems – old and new – can work together seamlessly. Inclusion: They want to extend affordable digital payment access to underserved communities, "the unbanked". Innovation: They want to accelerate the shift from cash to digital, supporting initiatives like instant settlements and lower transaction costs. And this follows a trend seen in emerging markets like India (UPI) and Brazil (Pix), where central bank-led payment modernisation dramatically increased financial inclusion and reduced reliance on cash. But this also theoretically means faster, cheaper, and safer transactions for everyone – from street vendors accepting QR payments to businesses settling invoices in real time. SARB’s move signals that payments are now critical national infrastructure. And when central banks invests directly, change tends to happen faster. But will this actually increase financial inclusion in South Africa? Will this make a difference? #SARB #BankservAfrica #Payments #DigitalTransformation #FinancialInclusion #Fintech #SouthAfrica —— I'm Elly - a data analyst in banking. If you liked this, you'll like my free newsletter THE BANKING BRIEF: 5 Minute banking and fintech news.

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🚨 FACT-CHECK: I investigated the "digital banking paradox" claims about Kenya's banks. The truth is more nuanced than the viral narrative... After deep-diving into 2025 banking data, here's what I actually found about Kenya's Tier 1 banks: THE VERIFIED NUMBERS: 📊 KCB Group (Most Digital): • 99% digital adoption ✅ • 19.8% NPL ratio ❌ • Largest bank, worst performance 📊 Standard Chartered (Best Performer): • Strong digital platform ✅ • 7.4% NPL ratio ⭐ • Proves digital + discipline works 📊 Complete Tier 1 Rankings by NPL: 1. Standard Chartered: 7.4% 2. Stanbic: 9.1% 3. I&M/NCBA: 11.5% 4. Absa/DTB: 12.6% 5. Equity: 13.6% 6. Co-op: 17.0% 7. KCB: 19.8% 8. HF Group: 25.3% THE REAL INSIGHT: The original thesis was partially right but oversimplified. It's not "digital = bad." ✅ Digital + Strong Risk Culture = Excellence (Standard Chartered, Stanbic) ❌ Digital + Weak Risk Culture = Amplified Problems (KCB, Co-op) THE CORRECTED FORMULA: Digital transformation without concurrent strengthening of credit discipline amplifies existing weaknesses at scale. WHAT THIS MEANS: 🎯 For Tech Leaders: Don't digitize broken processes—fix them first, then scale 🎯 For Investors: Standard Chartered & Stanbic prove the model works when done right 🎯 For Banking: KCB's 99% digital adoption shows technology alone isn't the answer THE UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTH: Kenya's banking sector isn't experiencing a "digital transformation crisis"—it's experiencing a credit culture crisis that digital channels have amplified. The best digital banks (Standard Chartered) have the lowest NPLs. The worst digital implementations (KCB) have the highest. BOTTOM LINE: Technology amplifies what's already there. Strong fundamentals + Digital tools = Banking excellence Weak fundamentals + Digital tools = Expensive failure at scale MY TAKE: Have you seen similar patterns in your industry? Where digital transformation succeeded vs. where it amplified problems? CONTRARIAN PLAY: KCB trading at crisis multiples despite being Kenya's largest bank. Turnaround story or value trap? 🤔 🔄 REPOST if this changes how you think about digital transformation 💭 COMMENT with your own digital paradox stories 🔔 FOLLOW for data-driven analysis that cuts through industry hype #DigitalTransformation #Banking #Kenya #CreditRisk #FinTech #Leadership #Strategy #DataAnalysis #Africa #TechStrategy #RiskManagement #BankingInnovation *Data sources: Kenya banking sector FY'2024 reports, Central Bank of Kenya, Cytonn Research. This analysis is based on verified financial data, not assumptions.

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Cross-border B2B payments have long been slowed by issues like fragmented infrastructure and settlement delays. Our partnership with SUNRATE shows how we are solving these challenges. By powering virtual account collections, we make it easy for African businesses to pay SUNRATE’s customers locally, while ensuring fast settlements. We are committed to building the rails that bridge the payment gap between Africa and the world. Read the full use case to see how we can power your Africa B2B collections. https://lnkd.in/dD9jD8XM

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The African payments and fintech landscape continues to evolve, so here are three stories that stood out this week: 1️⃣ PayPal x M-PESA 🇰🇪 After announcing its PayPal World a week ago, without any African providers, PayPal announced that Safaricom PLC now supports direct PayPal transfers via the M-PESA Africa app, enabling faster, easier cross-border payments for Kenyan users and freelancers. A step forward for digital remittances and seamless global-to-local money flows. 2️⃣ Crypto Payments in South Africa 🇿🇦 Peach Payments has partnered with MoneyBadger to enable crypto payments for SA merchants, such as Bitcoin. While crypto as a currency continues to gain traction, and the move shows growing interest in alternative rails and settlement options beyond traditional banks, I still have a number of questions - which industries will adopt this as a payment method, what's the cost, and how is the user adoption? 3️⃣ Morocco’s digital currency initiative 🇲🇦 Morocco's Central Bank is developing a comprehensive digital currency framework, positioning itself as a regional fintech leader. The focus is around driving and increasing financial inclusion, modernizing payments, and aligning with global CBDC standards. In addition, the country also joined the Pan-African Payment & Settlement System - PAPSS in July, so do you believe real changes are coming to #Morocco? It is great to see innovation picking up across legacy rails, crypto, and Central Banks. At NjiaPay, we’re watching these shifts closely as we build the infrastructure to power online business across the continent and support Africa’s next wave of digital commerce 🌍 #Africa #AfricanFintech #AfricanPayments #PaymentsInnovation #Payments #DigitalCurrency #NjiaPay #FinancialInclusion #CrossBorderPayments #Stablecoin #Crypto

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EXCLUSIVE: Collect Africa, a Nigerian fintech that set out to simplify payments for small businesses, will shut down by August 31, 2025. After four years of helping merchants manage financial operations, the team is now turning its full attention to a new stablecoin-focused platform, Autospend. #CollectAfrica #fintech #Crossborder

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