Latin American Fintechs Storm Africa In Fiery Digital Gold Rush

23 Sep 2024, 12:28 · WeeTracker

Latin American fintechs are increasingly turning their attention to Africa, drawn by the continent’s rapidly growing digital economy and financial inclusion opportunities. The latest entrant PayRetailers, is a notable payment processor in Latin America, which recently announced its expansion into eight new African countries, including economic powerhouses South Africa and Nigeria. This move builds on the company’s initial foray into Africa three months ago, when it launched in Rwanda, Zambia, Uganda, and Tanzania.

PayRetailers' ambition is clear: to provide seamless cross-border payment solutions for Africa's underbanked populations and tap into its booming digital commerce landscape. “Africa is a vibrant and varied continent, with payment preferences that differ from region to region,” said Jonathan Vintner, Global Head of Sales at PayRetailers.

This localised approach is key to success in a fragmented market, with mobile money services such as M-Pesa, Airtel Money, and MTN MoMo typically among the most popular payment options across different African nations.

Leveraging Latin American Experience

PayRetailers isn’t the first Latin American fintech to make inroads into Africa. Companies like Brazil-based EBANX and Uruguayan fintech dLocal have set the stage with similar moves, highlighting the parallels between the two regions. Latin America, like Africa, has long dealt with financial exclusion and reliance on cash transactions.

Minka, a Colombian fintech, entered East Africa in 2024 and has also drawn attention to these shared challenges. “There are some real synergies between the work we are doing in Latin America and the issues that are being faced in East Africa,” said Alexander Perko, Minka's growth lead.

These fintechs hope to bring their expertise in navigating Latin America’s fragmented payment systems to Africa, where 350 million adults remain unbanked. In doing so, they aim to support Africa's growing digital economy, which is projected to be home to nearly 500 million mobile internet users by 2025, according to GSMA.