Over 320 million mobile money wallets

March 2021 marked another milestone for MFS Africa as we reached over 320 million mobile money wallets in sub-Saharan Africa. Based on numbers from the 2021 State of the Industry report on Mobile Money released by the GSMA, this means that MFS Africa is now connected to 60% of all mobile money wallets in sub-Saharan Africa. The announcement was a welcome shot in the arm as we strive to enable a range of banks, telcos, money transfer operators, and other financial institutions to interoperability at scale in Africa through a single integration point.

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Back in 2010, we took a bet that mobile money accounts would be the most dominant form of financial accounts in Africa and emerging markets at large. Over time, the new numbers released by the GSMA have removed any lingering doubts about that, as we are now in a position to make this a reality for millions of Africans globally.

Sub-Saharan Africa is the most developed market for mobile money, accounting for roughly two-thirds of global mobile money transactions in 2020. There is also a huge opportunity to leverage this growing popularity to encourage entrepreneurship and growth both on the continent and across the world. However, more complex transactions, such as those across borders or involving distinct financial institutions,

can be costly and inconvenient for African consumers and businesses. The high cost of remittances on the continent (8.9% in the last quarter of 2019) is just one example. MFS Africa's payments platform connects a range of businesses and institutions across the continent, creating new pathways for mobile money payments and financial services.

From inception, our idea has always been that through our work, these accounts would be able to exchange value with each other and with the rest of the world, in the same way, we communicate with each other by mobile phones.

Mobile money has great potential within the continent and will enable it to become a competitive trading partner on the world stage. MFS Africa exists to make the vision of a borderless payments ecosystem in Africa a reality. Building on the success of domestic digital payment schemes like mobile money, we have stitched together these systems into what it is now - a continental digital payment network, MFS Africa Hub, which lays the foundation for the growth of digitized financial services across the continent.