By Oluwaseun Solanke, CEO of VERYPAY, a Verysell Group company
In the realm of global financial technology, Africa presents both a significant challenge and an unprecedented opportunity. While mobile money transactions in Africa reached $701.4 billion in 2021, the continent’s financial inclusion landscape remains fragmented, with over 900 million people still excluded from formal financial services. This disparity represents not just a social challenge, but a substantial market opportunity for technology providers who can navigate the complex infrastructure constraints unique to African markets.
Beyond Traditional Digital Banking
The conventional digital banking model, predicated on smartphone penetration and reliable internet connectivity, has proven insufficient for Africa’s diverse economic landscape. As CEO of VERYPAY, part of the Swiss-headquartered Verysell Group, I’ve observed firsthand how this inadequacy creates a significant market gap. Our analysis indicates that Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), despite their extensive reach, have been constrained by technological limitations in their attempt to bridge this divide.
The VERYPAY Platform, developed by our global software development centers, approaches this challenge through a fundamentally different technological framework. By creating a transaction engine and NFC token management system that integrates with any e-wallet, we’ve engineered a solution that transcends the limitations of traditional digital banking infrastructure.
Technical Innovation Driving Market Expansion
Our platform’s architecture allows MNOs to deploy contactless payment schemes without the complex network of issuers, acquirers, or payment service providers typically required. This technological approach has profound implications for market expansion:
- Infrastructure-Light Integration: MNOs can leverage existing subscriber networks without additional heavy infrastructure investment
- Offline Transaction Capability: Our NFC-based system enables digital transactions in areas with limited connectivity
- Universal Merchant Acquisition: Any subscriber can be configured as a merchant, drastically simplifying the traditional merchant onboarding process
These technical capabilities translate directly into market opportunities. For MNOs, the ability to convert existing subscribers into both users and merchants represents a significant revenue diversification strategy.
Quantifying the Market Opportunity
Africa’s mobile money market continues to expand rapidly, with the potential to transform the financial landscape across the continent. By converting just 15% of the existing Mobile Network Operators’ (MNO) subscriber base into active financial service users, an additional 100 million Africans could gain access to digital financial services by 2034. This represents a profound opportunity for growth, particularly in regions where financial inclusion remains limited.
Projections based on current transaction values indicate that this could drive $200 billion in additional annual transaction volume. In 2021 alone, mobile money transactions in Africa reached $701.4 billion, and experts forecast the continent’s mobile money market will surpass $1 trillion by 2025 (Kenyan Wall Street). This growth underscores the critical role that MNOs play in driving financial inclusion, and how the right technology can help unlock Africa’s vast economic potential.
VERYPAY is uniquely positioned to accelerate this transition by providing MNOs with scalable solutions that bypass common infrastructural barriers such as limited smartphone penetration and inconsistent internet access. By empowering MNOs to scale their mobile money offerings, we aim to help bridge the financial inclusion gap and unlock the full potential of digital financial services across Africa.
Global Technology, Local Application
While the African market presents unique challenges, the solution lies in applying global technology standards to local conditions. The Verysell Group’s experience in developing software solutions across three continents has been instrumental in creating a platform that adheres to international security and scalability standards while addressing Africa-specific constraints.
Our transaction engine’s architecture draws on the same principles that have driven financial inclusion in other emerging markets:
- Scalability: Our platform is designed to handle high transaction volumes with the capability to scale up as demand grows
- Reliability: Built-in redundancy ensures 99.99% uptime, which is critical for maintaining user trust
- Security: End-to-end encryption and tokenization meet global banking security standards
Looking Ahead: A Data-Driven Future
As we progress towards our goal of enabling 100 million users by 2034, the focus extends beyond simple transaction processing. The rich data generated by our platform will drive the next phase of financial inclusion: AI-driven credit scoring, automated merchant lending, and predictive financial services tailored to the African market.
The challenge of financial inclusion in Africa is, at its core, a technology problem. By providing MNOs with the tools to overcome infrastructure limitations, we’re laying the groundwork for a fundamental transformation of Africa’s financial landscape. For global investors and partners who understand this vision, the opportunity to participate in this transformation is now.
Blurb
Oluwaseun Solanke is the CEO of VERYPAY, a part of Verysell Group – a global software development company established in 1990 with headquarters in Switzerland. The group operates software development centers in Vietnam and maintains offices across three continents, serving clients from startups to multinational corporations.
