Fintech companies in Kenya and across the continent are reshaping how businesses hire, pay, and grow in the digital economy.
Fintech market set to surge to $47 billion by 2028
A report by McKinsey & Company projects that Africa’s fintech market revenue will grow fivefold by 2028, reaching $47 billion. This signals a transformative shift driven by increasing innovation, digital inclusion, and investor interest across the continent. Mayoa Kuyoro, a partner at McKinsey who leads the firm’s Africa financial services group, spoke to CNN’s Eleni Giokos about the momentum building beyond traditional fintech powerhouses like Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and Egypt. “People are also looking now at Francophone West Africa,” she noted.
Innovation rooted in inclusion
Kuyoro emphasised that fintech growth is rooted in solving widespread financial exclusion. “More than 50% of African adults lack access to financial services or are underbanked,” she said. But this challenge, she argues, is also an opportunity. “We’ve seen the ingenuity of our founders and our young people who are finding ways to drive financial inclusion.”
She added that the fintech space is becoming “increasingly democratised,” and she’s optimistic about the wave of innovations that will emerge in the coming years.
WorkPay: Simplifying payroll across 31 countries
Founded in 2019 by Paul Kimani and Jackson Kibigo, WorkPay emerged to solve a critical pain point in African businesses — payroll. As Kibigo explained, “Payroll is a pain for most African businesses… Customers needed a solution to pay employees on time, and also to make cross-border payments.”
Today, WorkPay operates in 31 countries and supports over 1,000 companies with hiring, managing, and paying staff. Kimani envisions a future where African talent can serve global employers remotely. “Can they work from here and still serve these employers regardless of where they are?” he asked.
Nala: Tackling cross-border fees and FX barriers
In Nairobi, Tanzanian fintech Nala is striving to lower the high costs of cross-border payments. Co-founder and COO Nicolai Eddy explained the challenge: “Africa’s markets are very diverse. To build a strong fintech, you must understand the nuances of each market.”
CEO Benjamin Fernandes echoed the difficulty of managing foreign exchange (FX) across Sub-Saharan Africa. He told Giokos, “Africa is a net import region… There’s a massive dollar shortage, and until exports rise, there will be persistent trade imbalances and FX losses.”
The World Bank estimates that sending money in Sub-Saharan Africa costs 8.37% of the total transaction value, the highest rate globally. Fernandes believes AI could play a key role in reducing business costs and boosting efficiency.
Diaspora remittances outpace exports
Fernandes pointed to Kenya’s tea exports, valued at $1.2 billion annually, compared to $4 billion sent home by Kenyan migrants. “That’s four times the country’s largest export,” he noted, highlighting the untapped potential of diaspora flows.
Nala is already operational in 11 African countries and four in Asia, with plans to expand to 18 more countries in 2025. “We’re launching Canada next month and we’re just getting started,” Fernandes said.
The stories of WorkPay and Nala illustrate how African fintech firms are leveraging technology to overcome complex challenges — from payroll to payments — and position the continent as a rising force in global financial innovation.
This story was adapted from the CNN Connecting Africa episode by Eleni Giokos and Victoria Rubadiri.