Leapfrogging in the Financial Sector

This research paper examines the 'fintech revolution' in Africa, detailing how mobile and digital technologies have allowed the continent to leapfrog traditional banking systems to achieve greater financial inclusion and economic growth.

• Mobile telephony has enabled a technological leapfrogging in Africa, allowing users to bypass legacy banking systems and access services like payments, savings, credit, and insurance without physical bank branches.
• M-Pesa, launched in Kenya in 2007 and operated by Vodafone and Safaricom, has grown into one of the world's largest mobile money platforms, processing approximately 37 billion transactions in 2025, which is nearly a sixfold increase since 2017.
• Sub-Saharan Africa leads the world in mobile money adoption, surpassing one billion registered accounts and 280 million monthly active users. In 2025, annual transaction values in the region exceeded US$1 trillion.
• Mobile money has positively impacted GDP and poverty levels in sub-Saharan Africa, with its GDP contribution rising from US$150 billion in 2022 to US$190 billion in 2023. In Kenya, M-Pesa lifted 2% of households (194,000) out of poverty, with significant benefits for women moving from agriculture into business.
• While domestic systems have scaled, cross-border payments in Africa remain slow and expensive. Potential solutions include interoperable digital payment systems or central bank digital currencies, which could be implemented as part of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
• Digital finance has influenced governance and social stability by improving public finance transparency through Public Expenditure Tracking Surveys (PETS) in Ghana, Tanzania, and Uganda, and by enabling civil society in Ghana to monitor elections via SMS.

APA

Yeboua, K. (2026). Leapfrogging in the Financial Sector. Institute for Security Studies. https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=09-leapfrog&topic=04-leapfrogging-financial-sector

Chicago

Yeboua, Kouassi. Leapfrogging in the Financial Sector. Institute for Security Studies, 2026. https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=09-leapfrog&topic=04-leapfrogging-financial-sector.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Yeboua |first1=Kouassi |title=Leapfrogging in the Financial Sector |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=25 May 2026 |url=https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=09-leapfrog&topic=04-leapfrogging-financial-sector |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{yeboua2026leapfrogging, author = {Yeboua, Kouassi}, title = {{Leapfrogging in the Financial Sector}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2026}, month = may, url = {https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=09-leapfrog&topic=04-leapfrogging-financial-sector}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }