10 African Fintech companies named among World's top 300
Ten African fintech companies are recognized among the world's top 300 fintechs in 2025
Highlighted categories include digital payments, assets, banking, financing, and wealth technology.
Companies like OPay, PalmPay, and Interswitch exemplify progress in payments, while Tala and M-KOPA innovate financing solutions.
The list, spanning seven categories, including digital payments, digital assets, enterprise fintech, Insurtech, wealth technology, neobanking, and alternative financing, highlights significant shifts in the financial technology landscape.
The selection process was based on key performance indicators such as revenue growth, user acquisition, product innovation, and market expansion.
Notably, global fintech investment dropped by 20% in 2024 to $95.6 billion, a seven-year low, according to KPMG's Pulse of Fintech report.
Nonetheless, African fintechs continue to thrive, driving financial inclusion, transforming payment systems, and expanding digital lending across the continent, particularly in markets where traditional banking services are limited.
The 10 African fintechs:
S/N Company Country Category
1 OPay Nigeria Payment
2 PalmPay Nigeria Payment
3 Moniepoint Nigeria/Uk Payment
4 Interswitch Nigeria Payment
5 MyFawry Egypt Payment
6 PayMob Egypt Payment
7 Yoco South Africa Payment
8 PiggyVest Nigeria Wealth technology
9 M-KOPA Kenya/UK Alternative Financing
10 Tala Kenya Alternative Financing
Africa's Fintech Powerhouses
Spanning four regions, West, East, North, and Southern Africa; the selected companies reflect the diversity and resilience of African fintech innovation:
OPay (Payments): With over 60 million users, OPay operates a comprehensive super-app offering mobile payments, loans, and merchant services. Its valuation rose significantly in 2024, bringing it close to the $3 billion mark.
Recently the fintech company was awarded Fintech Company of the Year in Nigeria, and was also shortlisted by the World Economic Forum as a "Global Disruptor in Emerging Markets".
PalmPay: (Payment) a leading payment platform has witnessed remarkable growth, serving 35 million users and processing 15 million daily transactions in Q1 2025.
It is set to enter new markets, including Côte d'Ivoire, South Africa, Uganda, and Tanzania, after being named on the Financial Times' Africa's Fastest-Growing Companies list in 2024.
Interswitch: (Payment) With over two decades of experience in digital payments, Interswitch has established itself as a veteran in the industry.
The company has issued over 85 million Verve cards and maintains a strong cross-border presence. Its reputation Interswitch's dominance in the market was further recognized when it was named among Africa's Top 10 Most Valuable Brands in 2024 by Brand Africa.
Moniepoint: (payment) formerly TeamApt, has achieved unicorn status after securing $110 million in funding from prominent investors, including Google and Visa. Its remarkable growth earned it recognition as Africa's Fastest-Growing Fintech in the Financial Times' 2024 list of Africa's Fastest Growing Companies.
PiggyVest (Wealth Technology): The only African fintech named in the wealth technology segment, PiggyVest has served over 7 million users and facilitated ₦2 trillion in savings and investments since its launch in 2016.
PiggyVest won Best Digital Savings Platform at the 2024 African Fintech Awards
Expanding Across Africa
Beyond Nigeria, fintechs in Egypt, Kenya, and South Africa also earned spots:
MyFawry: (Payments): A consumer-facing platform recorded over $121.6 million in revenue in 2024, with 47% of its growth driven by digital banking services. The platform operates over 372,000 POS terminals. was named Best Consumer Fintech App at the 2024 Egypt Fintech Innovation Awards.
Paymob (Payments): Serving over 350,000 merchants, Paymob raised $22 million in 2024 to scale fintech infrastructure across North Africa and beyond. Recognised by Forbes Middle East as one of the Top 20 Fintech Startups to Watch in MENA, P
M-KOPA (Alternative Financing): Known for its pay-as-you-go smartphones and asset financing, M-KOPA now operates in five countries with 7 million customers. was given the Financial Inclusion Award at the 2024 Africa Fintech Summit.
Tala: (Alternative Financing): With $360 million in total funding, Tala has revolutionised microloans using smartphone data and now serves over 8 million users. named one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies in 2024
Yoco: (Payments): South Africa's leading POS fintech, Yoco, won Best SME Enabler at the 2024 African Fintech Forum. Known for its low-cost POS devices, Yoco serves over 200,000 SMEs. It has raised $107 million to date, including an $83 million Series C round in 2021.
Africa's Fintech Future
The inclusion of these African startups on a global stage affirms the continent's fintech momentum despite headwinds. While Western markets grapple with investor fatigue, African startups are solving real-world problems, financial access, inclusion, and trust, at scale.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
2 hours ago
- Forbes
How Human-First InsurTech Can Disrupt The $1.5 Trillion Sector
People often think insurance innovation will replace agents, but it actually reshapes their role in new ways. Digital technology keeps changing insurance product delivery and might reshape business models completely. Yet human expertise remains essential with InsurTech companies, as the U.S. life insurance and annuities market is projected to hit $1.54 trillion by 2029, according to Statista. This is why Tray Honeycutt, founder of Honeycutt Insurance, is leaning into how insurance agents are leading innovation through a people-first strategy that blends new technology with valuable personal expertise. Honeycutt Founder, Tray Honeycutt with one of his agents The Breakdown You Need To Know: The agent-centric model remains more relevant than ever, even as digital solutions grow. Technology advances rapidly, yet human connection stays central to insurance distribution. An Accenture study shows 49% of insureds want to speak with a human advisor when filing a claim. Only 12% prefer automated services and 7% would use a chatbot. For multicultural communities who often rely on trust-based relationships in financial decisions, the value of human guidance cannot be overstated. When most InsurTech companies are focused on cutting out the middleman, Honeycutt is doubling down on keeping people at the heart of the process. Instead of automating agents out of the equation, his model flips the script: equip, empower, and elevate. By pairing cutting-edge technology with hands-on mentorship, Honeycutt Insurance is transforming the insurance industry into an ecosystem where leaders are made, not replaced. 'It's not just about business, it's about transformation,' Honeycutt said. 'We're helping everyday people become leaders, providers, and entrepreneurs. And when people grow, the business grows.' By focusing on protecting middle income families who are often overlooked, they are able to tap into a blue ocean of opportunity that most agencies aren't even paying attention to. That philosophy translates into real numbers because new full time agents in his system can write $15,000 to $30,000 in monthly issued premiums. In Honeycutt's words 'the ripple effect of one leader developing another, and then another, creates a cycle of empowerment and economic mobility.' Insur-ing Wealth: In this high-stakes, high-touch industry, human expertise remains essential as insurance plays a critical role in alleviating wealth accumulation issues. Life insurance policies, for example, can provide a financial safety net for families in the event of a loved one's death, helping to cover funeral costs and providing income replacement or enabling wealth transfer. Taking out a life insurance policy is an effective way for families to build generational wealth. 'There's no easier way to pass on generational wealth than to have a life insurance policy with named beneficiaries,' Scott Ford, president of affluent wealth management at U.S. Bank stated on the company's website. 'It's a tax-free wealth creation tool that allows you to leave an even bigger legacy for future generations.' Currently, Black families have the highest increasing rate of life insurance ownership among all racial groups at 56%, compared to 52% for the total U.S. adult population, a LIMRA study found. The major increase in these life insurance percentages came during the pandemic, which disproportionately impacted minority communities. What's Next: When people think of insurance innovation, they often imagine a fully digital future where human agents become obsolete, replaced by apps and chatbots. However, in reality, technology is reshaping, not erasing the role of agents. While automation and AI continue to disrupt the financial services industry, the life insurance sector still thrives on human connection. Right now the industry's distribution model faces a radical alteration because insurance agents aren't becoming obsolete. In fact, according to McKinsey that's not even what customers want. A recent report by the company found that 71% of consumers expect tailored service, and 76% get frustrated when companies don't deliver it. Hence why we could use more InsurTech companies leading innovation by putting human connections first in our digital world.
Business Insider
5 hours ago
- Business Insider
Africa's richest man retires as chairman of Dangote Cement
Africa's richest man, Aliko Dangote, has stepped down as Chairman of the Board of Directors at Dangote Cement Plc. Aliko Dangote, Africa's richest man, has resigned as Chairman of Dangote Cement Plc, with Emmanuel Ikazoboh succeeding him. Ikazoboh has extensive experience spanning over 40 years in senior management roles across several African countries. Dangote Cement significantly contributed to Nigeria transitioning from a major global cement importer to Africa's largest exporter. Africa's richest man, Aliko Dangote, has stepped down as Chairman of the Board of Directors at Dangote Cement Plc, marking the end of an era at one of the continent's largest cement producers. In his place, Emmanuel Ikazoboh has been appointed as the new board chairman, according to Premium Times. Ikazoboh, who previously served as an independent non-executive director, brings more than four decades of senior management experience across Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, and South Africa. Further details about the leadership change and its implications for the company's strategy are expected in the coming days. In June, Mr. Dangote stepped down as Chairman of Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc, marking the end of two decades of leadership at one of Nigeria's most profitable food companies. The move, according to the company, was 'in line with the principles of good corporate governance and succession planning.' Dangote Cement has played a significant role in transforming Nigeria's economy. In June, Dangote noted that Nigeria, once the second-largest importer of cement globally, now exports more cement than any other African country, thanks to massive local investment in production capacity. Nigerian-based Dangote Cement remains Africa's largest cement producer, with a total installed capacity of 48.6 million metric tonnes per annum (Mt/a) across the continent. Of this, 32.3 Mt/a is located in Nigeria, while the remaining 16.3 Mt/a spans nine other African countries: Tanzania, South Africa, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Ghana, Senegal, Zambia, and Sierra Leone.
Business Insider
7 hours ago
- Business Insider
Zap unveils new brand identity
Zap Africa, a Nigerian startup developing non-custodial crypto infrastructure, has unveiled a new brand identity and an updated version of its flagship product, Zap Exchange. The move reflects the company's efforts to strengthen its market position as user expectations, competition, and regulatory pressures reshape the African crypto landscape. Founded on the premise of decentralisation and user control, Zap offers infrastructure that enables individuals to swap, move, and spend digital assets without relying on custodial intermediaries. The newly launched Zap Exchange introduces improved speed, better interface, and personalised trading tools, all wrapped in a refreshed visual identity designed to reflect the company's maturity and growth ambitions. 'We realised the brand and product interface we launched with no longer represented the business we were becoming,' said Co-founder Tobi Asu-Johnson. 'With our expansion roadmap, we needed a brand that captures the innovation driving our next phase.' The product's new updates include token-specific trade history, saved wallet addresses, real-time price alerts, and faster logins—features that are increasingly critical for Nigeria's growing base of retail and semi-professional crypto users. The design overhaul is also strategic, aimed at boosting retention in a market where UX has become a key differentiator among digital finance products. Co-founder and CTO Moore Dagogo-Hart described the platform as a 'control room' for crypto management. 'We built it to make complex transactions feel effortless and intuitive,' he said. Notably, the rebrand comes amid a trademark dispute involving Paystack, a fintech giant owned by Stripe, which recently introduced a product with the same name, "Zap." While industry observers have speculated about the timing, the founders assert that the rebrand was initiated in April 2024, not in response to external developments. Nigeria remains a leading crypto hub in Africa, driven by mobile adoption, a young, digital-savvy population, and demand for financial alternatives. With a sharper identity and an upgraded platform, Zap is positioning itself as a long-term infrastructure player, betting on the widespread adoption of crypto.
