Two Nigerian fintech companies, Opay and Kuda, alongside 4 others from across Africa have made it to CNBC’s Top 200 Fintech list. CNBC, in collaboration with the independent market research firm Statista, curated an exhaustive compilation of 200 top global fintech companies at the forefront of innovation and harnessing technology to craft ingenious financial products and services.
The collaboration set out a goal to highlight the most prominent fintech companies, adopting a precisely established process that evaluates their performance across a range of critical factors. These benchmarks include a variety of indicators such as total user base, transactional volumes, and overall revenues.
The selected companies have been thoughtfully classified into nine distinct segments, each reflecting a different aspect of their operations: neo-banking, digital payments, digital assets, digital financial planning, digital wealth management, alternative financing, alternative lending, digital banking solutions, and digital business solutions.
However, within this comprehensive landscape, some African fintech startups are highlighted within the aforementioned list. In this article, we are exploring these African fintech startups.
Read Also: Amid the financial inclusion drive, 63% of Nigerians prefer fintech apps to traditional banks
The methodology and statistics
Statista evaluated a substantial cohort of over 1,500 fintech companies, scrutinizing a vast compilation of data encompassing more than 10,000 data points. This data corpus encompassed a diverse array of sources, ranging from annual reports and official company websites to extensively detailed news articles.
This approach combined many performance measurements, including but not limited to revenues and revenue per employee, and aligned them with the individual key performance indicators (KPIs) relevant to their respective market segments.
As a result, the evaluation process included a two-tiered assessment: a holistic assessment of overall company performance and a granular examination of how companies fared against the KPIs that were unique to their respective market niches.
Statista also took a prudent approach to the final roster curation, stratifying the scoring algorithm into two independent dimensions. General KPIs received 40% of the weightage, contributing to the overall evaluation, while segment-specific KPIs received 60% of the weightage, recognizing the contextual intricacies of each market area.
The list was then made of the global fintech companies with the highest scores in their respective market groups.
African fintech companies that made the list
22seven (Capetown, South Africa)
Positioned among the global contenders within the digital financial planning ecosystem, South African fintech company, 22seven made it to the list. Founded in 2012, 22seven has cultivated a substantial user base, with over 580,000 South Africans leveraging its services to effectively navigate their financial landscape.
This Capetown fintech company is focused on providing budgeting software services and a technological platform that empowers consumers by centralizing and streamlining the oversight of their financial resources.
22seven is backed by Old Mutual, a partnership that infuses the company with robust resources to sustain its trajectory of growth and innovation. The influence of technology in the arena of digital financial planning is abundantly evident, as individuals opt for the convenience and efficiency of online tools over traditional, paper-based methods.
Bank Zero (Johannesburg, South Africa)
Bank Zero was listed in the Neobanking category. It was founded in 2018 by a group of former luminaries from First National Bank, including Michael Jordaan, and Yatin Narsai.
Neobanks, are fintech companies, typically startups, that provide atypical banking services online. These organizations often offer checking and savings accounts through a mobile app or internet, and do not have physical locations.
While the paradigm shift in the banking industry as recently experienced is posing difficulties, especially the traditional business model, these neobanks have successfully capitalized on rising interest rates by diversifying into lending services. This demonstrates their agility and resilience in the face of changing market circumstances.
Fawry (Cairo, Egypt)
Egypt’s Fawry also made it to the list within the Digital Payments sector. Fawry was founded in 2008 by Ashraf Sabry and has rapidly evolved into a paramount facilitator of cutting-edge banking and payment technology services within Egypt.
Throughout its journey, Fawry’s unwavering commitment to innovation has led to the development of tailored service offerings, meticulously designed to cater to the diverse needs of a substantial customer base that has now exceeded 35 million avid users.
Fawry’s vision took root in addressing a pressing societal challenge. It has played an instrumental role in shaping a landscape where electronic bill payments have become a ubiquitous and integral part of Egypt’s financial fabric.
Kuda (Lagos, Nigeria)
Kuda is one of the two Nigerian fintech companies that secured a spot on the list in the Neobanking category. It was established in 2019, and in 2021 after it raised $55 million in a Series B fund round, became valued at $500 million.
This firmly cemented its status as the seventh most valuable bank within Nigeria’s financial landscape. Distinguishing itself as a licensed microfinance bank, this company empowers its user base by facilitating seamless, fee-free savings.
The all-in-one business app seamlessly amalgamates savings, payment, and credit services, catering to both retail and business clientele. In July 2023, it celebrated a significant milestone after surpassing the benchmark of six million customers within Nigeria just 4 years after its launch.
With its innovative approach and unwavering commitment to customer-centric solutions, this Nigerian fintech company continues to redefine the contours of the fintech landscape.
OPay (Lagos, Nigeria)
Securing a prominent position in the Digital Payment category, Opay emerges as the second Nigerian fintech company to feature on the list. Established in 2018, Opay has swiftly risen to prominence by delivering an array of distinctive and inventive services tailored for both businesses and customers.
The company stands proud with an impressive user base of over 30 million registered app users. A report by Intelpoint within the Nigerian Financial Services Market reveals that Opay presently commands authority over the country’s largest agency banking network, firmly controlling an impressive tally of 563,262 Point of Sale (POS) agents.
Operating as a comprehensive mobile-centric platform, Opay encompasses a diverse spectrum of financial functionalities, spanning payments, transfers, loans, savings, and an array of indispensable services.
Aiming to bridge this financial gap, Opay has strategically positioned itself as a pivotal conduit for fostering financial inclusion in Nigeria and across the continent.
Read Also:Opay Nigeria appoints former governorship aspirant Gotring Wuritka Dauda as new MD
Yoco (Cape Town, South Africa)
Cape Town-based Yoco has also made it on the list in the global digital payments segment, securing a spot among industry giants such as Stripe, Tencent, and PayPal. Yoco presents a cutting-edge digital payments platform of business tools and financial services.
At its core, Yoco offers an array of essential services to small businesses, ranging from advanced card machines to streamlined online payment solutions, all bolstered by a suite of indispensable business tools.
In 2021, it raised $83 million making its total funding round over $100 million from leading global investors including Nubank, Square, and Stone. It was launched in 2013 and according to its website, it has supported over 200,000 small businesses with its services.
Yoco’s goal is to foster the growth and prosperity of businesses across the African continent and beyond.
Read Also: Africa to lead global fintech growth with 32% CAGR and $65bn revenue by 2030
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