CNBC and Statista have identified ten African fintechs, including Palmpay, Interswitch, Moniepoint, OPay, and PiggyVest, as part of the top 300 fintech companies globally in 2025. The list showcases companies spearheading innovation in seven different sectors, such as wealth tech, payments, and alternative financing, despite a global funding slump and heightened investor prudence.
Africa’s growing significance in global digital finance, especially in payments, is indicated by the inclusion of African startups. With five featured companies, Nigeria had the best showing in the region. The payment category included the names of Interswitch, Opay, Palmpay, and Moniepoint, as well as Paymob and Yoco from South Africa and Egypt, respectively. In the wealth technology space, Piggyvest is the only fintech company based in Nigeria and Africa.
BrandSpur banking and finance news desk reports that the alternative financing category included M-KOPA and Tola.
To create the list, Statista examined more than 2,000 businesses worldwide, utilising important indicators like revenue, growth, and workforce size. Although the list is unranked, CNBC pointed out that the selection was made using data and market research provided by the company.
The world’s top list includes the following African fintechs:
PalmPay
Since its 2019 launch, PalmPay—which serves more than 35 million users—has established itself as a household name in Nigeria’s consumer payments market. Once the company processes more than 15 million daily transactions in Q1 2025, it intends to expand into South Africa, Côte d’Ivoire, Uganda, and Tanzania. Six Nigerian startups, including PalmPay, were included in the Financial Times’ 2024 list of Africa’s Fastest-Growing Companies.
Interswitch
Beginning with its 2002 launch, Interswitch has been a major force in digital payments. It has persisted in developing cross-border financial solutions and Africa’s first domestic EMV-verified payment system, Verve. It has influenced cross-border money transfers with over 85 million cards issued and operations in several African nations. LeapFrog Investments and Tiana Africa Capital jointly invested $110 million in 2022 to support the company’s efforts to expand digital payment services throughout the continent.
Moniepoint
Moniepoint, formerly known as TeamApt, raised $110 million from Google, VISA, and other international investors, and it was recently valued at $1 billion. Combining point-of-sale (POS), banking, credit, and international payments, the Nigerian fintech offers a full-stack financial platform designed for both individuals and companies. With a total payment volume of over $22 billion, Moniepoint handles over 1 billion transactions every month. Additionally, it was included in the Financial Times’ 2024 list of the Fastest-Growing Companies in Africa.
OPay
Since its 2018 launch, OPay, one of Nigeria’s top fintech companies, has gained recognition for its super-app, which facilitates easy mobile payments, transfers, loans, and merchant services. Including previously unbanked areas, it currently serves over 60 million users. With a more than 30% increase in 2024, the company’s valuation approached $3 billion. In the payments space, it was acknowledged alongside international behemoths like PayPal for enabling both in-person and online transactions between consumers and businesses.
PiggyVest
Piggyvest, the only African company recognised in the wealth technology category alongside international behemoths like Dubai’s GTN and the USA’s Lending Tree, is making its second consecutive appearance on CNBC’s list. It has paid out more than ₦2 trillion to its users and served over 7 million Nigerians since its inception in 2016.
Piggyvest Co-founder and CEO, Somto Ifezue had this to say after the world recognition: “We are excited to share this honour with some of the most innovative businesses in the world. Being included on this list, for a second consecutive year and specifically in the wealth technology category, is a validation of the moves we have made to serve our users better and anticipate their long-term needs.”
Paymob
An Egyptian fintech company called Paymob has enabled more than 350,000 retailers in five Middle Eastern and North African nations to take payments online and offline using digital wallets, cards, and QR codes. With additional funding from its 2021 Series A, which closed at $18.5 million, it raised $3.5 million in 2020 to expand its capacity and attract more merchants to use its payment services. Its series B extension in 2024 raised $22 million to develop fintech infrastructure outside of Egypt.
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M-Kopa
A well-known Kenyan startup, M-Kopa, offers pay-as-you-go access to assets such as smartphones and e-bikes. It also provides packaged services and digital loans. The business declared its expansion into five African nations in 2024, including Ghana, South Africa, Uganda, and Nigeria. With more than 7 million clients, it established the first smartphone assembly plant in Kenya and ventured into financial products like insurance and microloans, thereby leading the way in financial inclusion on a large scale.
Myfawry
Fawry’s consumer division is called MyFawry. With integrations for a wide range of services, including BNPL offerings and utility bill payments, it is Egypt’s top e-payments app. With a year-over-year increase in revenue to $121.6 million and a net profit of $35.5 million, the company had a successful 2024. With banking services accounting for nearly 47% of revenue growth, the company’s diversified portfolio beyond payments was the primary driver of this expansion. A total of 372,400 POS terminals were added to its retail network.
Yoco
Card acceptance and sales tracking are made possible by Yoco, a South African fintech that supplies reasonably priced point-of-sale devices and is trusted by 200,000 South African businesses. Four funding rounds—two early-stage rounds, one late-stage round, and one seed round—have brought in a total of $107 million. The Raba Partnership was among the investors in a $83 million Series C round that closed in July 2021, marking its largest fundraising event.
Tala
To create credit profiles and provide microloans, the Kenyan fintech company Tala uses smartphone metadata such as call logs, financial transactions, and app usage. With both new and existing investors contributing, it raised $145 million in Series E funding in 2021, increasing the total amount of money raised to $360 million.
Together, the company’s eight million+ clients access more than $3 million every day, generating almost $100 million in loans every month.
