FinTech investment in Africa took nine months to set a new record in 2019

FinTech companies in Africa have raised nearly $1.2bn between 2014 and Q3 2019, across 173 deals.

Funding increased at a CAGR of 40.6% between 2014 and 2016 to a record of $358.8m. Between 2016 and 2017 FinTech funding in the country dropped significantly but has since rebounded to reach a new record of $373.2m so far this year.

Yes, I know that compare to US or even UK it doesn't sound impressive, but.. remember that Africa is on the beginning of their road, and they will speed up for sure.

The previous record year (as visible on the above screen) in 2016 was driven by Lagos-based Jumia Group’s $326m Series C round led by Rocket Internet and MTN. The Pan-African E-Commerce platform which covers fashion, electronics and more used the investment to ‘put a tent pole down’ in Africa’s emerging online commerce early on so as to reap the rewards later when increased internet access and the growing middle classes increase the demand for e-commerce services. Africa presents a great opportunity for investors in the FinTech space as it is a region with many unbanked citizens and an underdeveloped financial sector. FinTechs offer an alternative to traditional financial services often in a more convenient format for the end customer, combined with a substantial mobile penetration rate of 44% in Sub-Saharan Africa according to GSMA this presents an ideal environment to build up a historically underdeveloped industry through the introduction of FinTech.

Data Source: FinTech Global