Incumbents, investors unite to uplift Africa’s booming fintech realm.

TLDR: Financial services incumbents and venture capitalists are playing leading roles in supporting Africa’s growing fintech sector, but startups still need more from a regulatory point of view to make scaling easier. The advent of M-Pesa in Africa opened up opportunities for fintech innovation in the region, and now there is a need for serious innovation in various areas of financial services. Startups have certain advantages over traditional banks, including higher net promoter scores and the ability to quickly roll out new products. Collaboration between banks and startups is becoming more common, leading to increased partnership. However, challenges remain, including payment solution fragmentation and differing regulatory regimes in different African countries. Africa’s fintech sector has seen significant funding, with $3.6 billion raised by 540 fintech startups in 25 countries since 2015. However, investment is still insufficient, with only a small number of companies receiving most of the funding.