The GSMA's State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money has become the definitive source for tracking the growth of mobile financial services globally. Each year's data reveals how mobile money has evolved from a niche service for the unbanked into a critical financial infrastructure serving hundreds of millions of people. The data from the 2024 report (covering 2023 activity), combined with projections for 2025, paints a picture of a market that continues to grow rapidly while undergoing significant structural changes.
Sub-Saharan Africa remains the global epicenter of mobile money. The region accounts for approximately 70% of global mobile money transaction value and a similar share of registered accounts. Understanding the current state of mobile money in Africa is essential for anyone building payment infrastructure, developing financial products, or investing in the continent's digital economy.
The Numbers: Scale and Growth
The headline statistics from the GSMA data demonstrate the sheer scale of mobile money in sub-Saharan Africa:
Sub-Saharan Africa: 835 million registered mobile money accounts, $832 billion processed in 2023 (approximately 45 billion transactions). Globally: 1.75 billion registered accounts, $1.26 trillion in transaction value.
The growth trajectory has been remarkably consistent. Transaction values in sub-Saharan Africa have grown at a compound annual rate of approximately 22% over the past five years. Registered accounts have grown at approximately 12% annually, suggesting that growth is being driven both by new user acquisition and by increasing transaction frequency among existing users.
Top Markets by Transaction Volume
Mobile money penetration and usage varies dramatically across African markets. The top five markets by transaction value account for more than 60% of the continent's total mobile money activity:
| Country | Key Operators | Registered Accounts (est.) | Annual Transaction Value (est.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya | M-Pesa (Safaricom), Airtel Money | ~75 million | $300+ billion |
| Ghana | MTN MoMo, Vodafone Cash, AirtelTigo | ~60 million | $120+ billion |
| Tanzania | M-Pesa (Vodacom), Tigo Pesa, Airtel Money | ~55 million | $95+ billion |
| Uganda | MTN MoMo, Airtel Money | ~40 million | $70+ billion |
| Nigeria | OPay, PalmPay, MTN MoMo | ~35 million | $50+ billion |
Note: Estimates based on GSMA 2024 data and operator disclosures. Nigeria's figures reflect recent rapid growth since telcos were licensed for mobile money in 2022.
Kenya: The Global Leader
Kenya's M-Pesa, launched by Safaricom in 2007, remains the gold standard for mobile money. Safaricom's 2024 annual report showed M-Pesa processing over KES 37 trillion ($290+ billion) in transaction value during the fiscal year, with over 33 million active monthly users in Kenya alone. M-Pesa's success is driven by deep integration into everyday economic life - from paying for groceries and transport (via Lipa Na M-Pesa) to receiving salaries, paying utilities and accessing credit (through M-Shwari and Fuliza).
Ghana: West Africa's Mobile Money Hub
Ghana has emerged as West Africa's most mature mobile money market, driven primarily by MTN MoMo. The Bank of Ghana's payment systems data shows mobile money transaction volumes growing consistently, with the introduction of mobile money interoperability (through GhIPSS) in 2018 providing a significant boost to adoption. Ghana was also an early implementer of the e-levy (1.5%, later reduced to 1% on electronic transactions above GHS 100), which temporarily slowed growth but demonstrated the fiscal significance of mobile money flows.
Tanzania: Interoperability Pioneer
Tanzania was one of the first African markets to achieve mobile money interoperability, allowing users of different networks (Vodacom M-Pesa, Tigo Pesa, Airtel Money, Halotel) to send money to each other seamlessly. This interoperability, facilitated by the National Switch and the Tanzania Interbank Settlement System (TISS), has been credited with boosting overall market growth by enabling network effects that benefit all operators.
The Operator Landscape
A handful of mobile network operators dominate mobile money across Africa. Understanding their footprint is essential for anyone building payment infrastructure:
Safaricom / M-Pesa
Originally a Kenyan innovation, M-Pesa now operates in seven African markets (Kenya, Tanzania, DRC, Mozambique, Ghana, Egypt and Lesotho) following Vodafone's transfer of the M-Pesa brand to Safaricom in 2020. The M-Pesa Africa platform serves over 65 million active users (30-day active) across these markets.
MTN Group / MTN MoMo
MTN's mobile money service, MoMo, operates across 16 African markets with over 65 million active users (90-day active). Key markets include Ghana, Uganda, Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Rwanda. MTN spun off its fintech operations into a separate unit (MTN Group Fintech) to accelerate growth, with ambitions to become a pan-African fintech platform.
Orange Money
Orange operates mobile money services across its footprint in West and Central Africa, including Senegal, Ivory Coast, Mali, Cameroon and Guinea. Orange Money has over 35 million active customers across 17 markets in Africa and the Middle East.
Airtel Money / Airtel Africa
Airtel Africa's mobile money service operates across 14 markets in East, Central and West Africa. The company reported over 35 million active users (90-day active) and processed over $100 billion in annualized transaction value in its most recent disclosures.
Wave
Wave, a fintech company rather than a traditional telco, disrupted the Senegalese market by offering free deposits and significantly lower withdrawal fees than established operators. Wave has expanded to Ivory Coast, Mali, Burkina Faso and The Gambia, reaching profitability in Senegal and demonstrating that the mobile money market can be contested by non-telco players.
Key Trends Shaping the Market
1. Merchant Payments Growth
Merchant payments (pay-for-goods-and-services transactions) are the fastest-growing segment of mobile money, increasing at approximately 34% year-over-year according to GSMA data. This reflects mobile money's evolution from a person-to-person transfer tool to a comprehensive payment method. In Kenya, Safaricom's Lipa Na M-Pesa processes millions of merchant transactions daily.
2. International Remittance Integration
Mobile money is increasingly serving as the last-mile delivery mechanism for international remittances. The GSMA reports that international remittances through mobile money grew by over 30% in 2023. Services like WorldRemit, Remitly and Wise now offer direct-to-mobile-wallet delivery in dozens of African markets.
3. Interoperability Expansion
Following Tanzania's early success, more markets are implementing mobile money interoperability. Ghana (via GhIPSS), Rwanda (via RSwitch) and the WAEMU zone (via GIMTEL, under BCEAO direction) have all made progress. The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), launched by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in 2022, aims to enable instant cross-border payments across the continent.
4. Platform Diversification
Mobile money operators are expanding beyond basic transfers into savings, credit, insurance and investment products. M-Shwari (savings/credit via M-Pesa), MTN's MoMo Kash and Airtel's SmartCash demonstrate how mobile money platforms are becoming comprehensive financial services ecosystems.
5. Agent Network Maturation
The GSMA reports over 15 million registered mobile money agents globally, with the majority in sub-Saharan Africa. These agent networks - physical points where users can deposit and withdraw cash - remain critical infrastructure, especially in rural areas. Agent networks are becoming more sophisticated, with agents increasingly offering multiple services (multi-operator, utility payments, insurance sales).
Challenges and Constraints
Despite impressive growth, several structural challenges constrain mobile money's potential:
- Dormancy rates: The GSMA estimates that only about 45% of registered mobile money accounts are active (transacting at least once in 90 days). This suggests significant room for activation and engagement.
- Gender gap: Women are 28% less likely than men to have a mobile money account in sub-Saharan Africa (GSMA Mobile Gender Gap Report 2024).
- Taxation: Several countries have introduced taxes on mobile money transactions (Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana, Cameroon), which can suppress growth among price-sensitive users.
- KYC barriers: National ID coverage remains incomplete in many markets, creating barriers to account opening under strict KYC requirements.
- Limited cross-border capability: Despite PAPSS and bilateral agreements, cross-border mobile money transfers remain a small fraction of total volume.
What This Means for API Providers
For companies building payment APIs that connect to mobile money networks, the GSMA data reveals several important implications:
- Multi-operator coverage is essential: No single operator achieves full market coverage in any country. Effective API services must integrate with multiple operators per market.
- East Africa leads but West Africa is catching up: Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal are growing faster in percentage terms than the historically dominant East African markets.
- Merchant payments are the growth frontier: APIs that enable merchant payment acceptance (collections) alongside disbursements will capture more of the value chain.
- Interoperability creates new possibilities: As more markets implement interoperability switches, it becomes possible to reach users across networks through a single integration point in some markets.
- Scale requires reliability: With billions of transactions flowing through mobile money monthly, API infrastructure must deliver high availability (99.9%+), low latency and robust error handling.
Conclusion
Mobile money in Africa has crossed the threshold from experimental to essential. With over 835 million registered accounts and approaching $1 trillion in annual transaction value in sub-Saharan Africa alone, the infrastructure is no longer nascent - it is the primary digital payment rail for much of the continent.
Yet the market continues to grow rapidly, with merchant payments, international remittances and platform diversification driving the next phase. For companies building on top of mobile money infrastructure - through APIs, integrations and value-added services - the market offers both enormous scale and sustained growth dynamics.
The data is clear: mobile money is Africa's payment infrastructure. Building for it is building for the continent's financial future.
Sources: GSMA State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money (2024), Safaricom Annual Report FY2024, MTN Group Fintech Disclosures, Bank of Ghana Payment Systems Data, GSMA Mobile Gender Gap Report 2024, World Bank Remittance Prices Worldwide.