Frontier Fintech GPS# 32 - May 14th 2025
M-Pesa achieves US$ 1.24 billion in revenues, Nawy raises US$ 75m in both Equity and Debt, PayShap faces slow uptake in SA and other stories that matter.
Illustration by Mary Mogoi
Hi All, Welcome to the 32nd edition of Frontier Fintech GPS where I provide key insights on the top global Fintech news items that matter to you. This newsletter will be arriving in your inboxes every Wednesday morning. The idea behind Frontier Fintech GPS is to help you navigate the endless stream of Fintech news and get smart about global Fintech as it applies to Africa. To those who are yet to subscribe, hit the subscribe button below and share with your colleagues and friends. 🚀
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🇰🇪 Safaricom Surpasses $3B in Revenue, Marking Regional First
Safaricom PLC reported an 11.2% increase in total revenue to KES 388.7 billion ($3 billion) for the financial year ending March 31, 2025, with net income rising 10.8% to KES 69.8 billion (US$ 540 million). The growth was driven by innovation in its product portfolio, expansion into Ethiopia, and community investments exceeding KES 18 billion over five years. In Kenya, service revenue grew 10.5% to KES 364.3 billion, with M-PESA contributing 44.2%. Ethiopia’s operations, contributing nearly 10% to revenue, doubled its customer base to 8.8 million. Safaricom will pay US$ 370 million in dividends, maintaining its payout policy despite Ethiopia’s investments and currency challenges. The results mark the end of a five-year strategy to transition into a technology company, with Ethiopia expected to reach profitability by 2027.
In FY25, M-PESA delivered robust performance with revenue rising 15.2% year-on-year to US$ 1.24, driven by a 29.5% increase in transaction volumes and a 14.9% rise in transaction value to US$ 202 billion. Consumer payments contributed US$ 487m (+19.7% YoY), while business payments surged 27.4% to US$ 376 million. Business payments now account for 30% of revenue, I expect this to be a growth driver for years to come. The platform now serves 36 million monthly active customers and over 1.9 million merchants, with strong momentum across credit (13.1 million borrowers), insurance (411,000 policies), and wealth management (US$ 74 million AUM). Continued adoption of M-PESA’s super apps also underpinned growth, reinforcing its role as a cornerstone of Safaricom’s financial services strategy. With M-Pesa being a US$ 1.24 billion revenue company and the broader telecom business facing challenges from stagnant voice revenue and satellite based internet, the question remains whether shareholders would capture more value by spinning off the M-Pesa business.
🇪🇬 Nawy Raises $75M to Accelerate MENA Expansion
Egypt-based proptech company Nawy has secured $75 million in funding, comprising $52 million in Series A equity led by Partech and $23 million in debt from major Egyptian banks. The capital will support Nawy's expansion across the MENA region, enhancement of its AI-driven technology stack, and the launch of new verticals. Founded in 2019, Nawy offers a comprehensive real estate platform, including mortgage financing, fractional ownership, asset management, and B2B brokerage services. In 2024, the company reported over $1.4 billion in Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) and a 50-fold increase in revenue in USD terms over four years, despite a 69% devaluation of the Egyptian pound. The funding aims to reinforce Nawy's position as a leading real estate technology firm in the region.
The CEO and Co-founder Mostafa El-Beltagy in an interview with Tage of TechCrunch noted that the Egyptian property market is a US$ 30 billion TAM market. That they have captured US$ 1.4 bllion already or just under 5% is impressive given the complexities of digitising real estate. What I like about this company is that they’re building based on existing demand and supply dynamics i.e. meeting buyers and sellers where they are and reducing the friction in real estate investments. I fully empathise with this given the hustle of buying property in Africa. Ultimately, reducing information asymmetry, building trust and helping with some of the more boring elements of property investments such as documentation should make for an impactful business whilst growing the US$ 30 billion number. Past vintages of prop-techs have failed due to a fundamental misunderstanding of supply and demand. For instance in Lagos, the issue with property and why it's so hard for tenants is simply because there’s insufficient inventory thus leaving landlords with all the leverage. You can’t fix this problem without fixing the inventory problem.
🇿🇦 PayShap Faces Slow Uptake Amid Awareness and Cost Challenges
PayShap, launched in March 2023 by BankservAfrica and the Payments Association of South Africa, enables instant, low-cost payments up to R3,000 using a phone number as a ShapID. Despite its aim to reduce cash usage in a country where 90% of transactions are cash-based, adoption remains low, particularly among low-income users. Banks’ reluctance to promote PayShap due to potential revenue loss from existing instant payment channels, poor visibility in banking apps, and lack of awareness hinder uptake. Many users prefer cash or existing e-wallet systems like CashSend. PayShap saw increased adoption among younger users in 2024–2025, but cash and bank cards remain dominant.
Whilst volumes on PayShap increased between Dec 2023 and Dec 2024 by 1,000%, a number of people I’ve spoken to have voiced the same concerns around PayShap and its potential adoption. Interestingly, I wrote about this in a past article about building Instant Payments Systems. Fundamentally, bank-led systems simply don’t work. The incentives are mis-aligned. UPI and Pix have succeeded by having Central Banks as the key governing authority. For Central Banks, their north star is to promote ubiquitous digital payments as cash recedes in usage. It’s an extension of their work in availing payment methods. When banks are in control, their north star is internal, conserving payments revenues or worse promoting their own instant payments products. Either of which don’t scale. Digital payments grow when either you have mobile money or central-bank led instant payments systems.
🌍 Airtel Africa Postpones Airtel Money IPO to H1 2026
Airtel Africa Plc announced plans to list its mobile money unit, Airtel Money, in the first half of 2026, delayed from an earlier 2025 target due to evolving market conditions. Airtel Money operates in 14 African countries, with 44.3 million customers and a 33.3% increase in transaction value to $146 billion in 2024. The IPO aims to unlock shareholder value and support expansion in digital financial services. In January 2025, the COMESA Competition Commission initiated a probe into Airtel Money’s pricing practices, citing misleading conduct. The delay reflects caution amid global market volatility and regulatory scrutiny.
Airtel Mobile Money delivered strong growth in FY25, with revenues rising 29.9% year-on-year in constant currency to $994 million, up from $837 million the previous year. The service added 6.6 million customers, growing its base to 44.6 million, representing a 17.3% increase. Mobile money now penetrates 26.8% of Airtel’s GSM base, up from 24.9% the previous year. Annualised transaction value reached an impressive $145 billion, supported by expanding use cases and deeper ecosystem integration. Interestingly, M-Pesa’s single country numbers exceed Airtel’s Pan-African numbers. It will be interesting to see how this IPO is proceeds. In 2021, TPG invested in Airtel Money at a valuation of US$ 2.65 billion, the IPO could likely come higher at say US$ 4-5 billion. These valuations should act as guides to other Fintechs such as Flutterwave, Moniepoint, Tymebank’s SA business and others as to what public markets expect in a Pan-African Fintech. It also validates the idea that M-Pesa could be valued higher as a standalone business.
🇺🇸 United States | Meta Explores Stablecoins for Cross-Border Payments
Meta is in discussions with cryptocurrency firms to adopt stablecoins for cross-border payments, aiming to reduce fees associated with traditional methods like wire transfers. The company is considering multiple stablecoin types for transactions, such as small payouts to creators on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. This follows Meta’s 2019 Libra (later Diem) initiative, abandoned in 2022 due to regulatory pushback. The current effort aligns with a more crypto-friendly U.S. administration and growing financial sector adoption of stablecoins. Stablecoins offer fast, borderless transactions with reduced volatility compared to other cryptocurrencies. No specific regulatory or financial implications were detailed in the report.
I covered Stripe Sessions in the most recent Monday deep dive with a focus specifically on their Stablecoin plans. In a later interview with John Collison, Mark Zuckerberg explains what happened with Libra (very briefly) whilst acknowledging that Stripe has the right to win in globalising stablecoin infrastructure. I expect a partnership of sorts with Stripe. Meta has a bigger right to win together with X in globalising consumer adoption given its widespread userbase especially in emerging markets where Stablecoin demand is the strongest. I expect that they’ll build the functionality and test it in some markets such as Brazil which has forward thinking regulators. I expect that regulation in the initial stage will focus on facilitating Pay-ins i.e. payments into the country. This will be further enforced through a partnership with a locally licensed PSP so that the Central Bank can monitor flows. Ultimately, this boosts remittances which are a net benefit to the country.
🌍 EAC Advances Toward Unified Digital Payments System
Central Bank governors of the East African Community (EAC) approved the EAC Cross-Border Payment System Masterplan during the 28th EAC Monetary Affairs Committee meeting in Mombasa, Kenya, on May 9, 2025. The masterplan outlines initiatives to modernize and integrate payment systems, aiming for efficient, secure, affordable, and inclusive cross-border transactions. It supports the East Africa Monetary Union (EAMU) roadmap by 2031, with progress in harmonizing monetary policies, financial regulations, and IT infrastructure. The plan addresses high transaction costs and regulatory disparities to boost trade and financial inclusion. Governors also noted the EAC’s economic resilience, projecting 5.8% GDP growth in 2025, despite global challenges.
In EAC, Somalia and Tanzania have made progess with their own Instant Payments Systems. Interestingly, South Sudan is also in the list of countries launching Instant Payments Systems. Kenya is yet to launch its own but this is in the works. The talks around unifying digital payments is therefore timely as it ties in to the EAC’s broader objective of growing trade. The challenge is that within these countries there’s always intra-corridor liquidity mismatches i.e. there’s more KES moving to Uganda than UGX moving to Kenya. The opportunity for Fintech lies in straddling this payments system and providing treasury. An opportunity for Stablecoins for sure.
🌍 MultiBank Group and MAG to Tokenize $3B in Real Estate
MultiBank Group, a financial derivatives institution, signed a $3 billion tokenization agreement with MAG Lifestyle Development, a UAE real estate developer, and Mavryk, a blockchain innovator, to tokenize real estate assets. The partnership will bring MAG’s properties, including The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Dubai, Creekside, and Keturah Reserve, onto the blockchain via MultiBank.io’s regulated real-world asset marketplace. Investors will earn daily yield on tokenized assets. The initiative supports the launch of the $MBG utility token, enabling access, staking, and fee payments. The platform aims to scale to $10 billion in assets. MultiBank Group will ensure regulatory compliance and market liquidity.
I wrote about Tokenisation some time back, highlighting the idea of how the blockchain enables not only the registering of an asset but the transparent transfer. It’s an idea that’s gaining traction with the likes of Blackstone promoting the idea of tokenising Exchange Traded Funds thus driving further growth in retail investor activity. Someone told me that you can’t put a house in the blockchain, I told them that neither can you put it in a computer yet many countries have digitlised their property records. The big thing to watch is the convergence between tokenised investments and AI advisors that will equalise the playing field between retail investors and high net worth investors from an access to deals perspective. It should also unlock liquidity in traditionally illiquid assets such as real estate and even VC.
🇸🇪 Klarna Reassesses AI-Driven Customer Service Strategy
Klarna, a buy-now-pay-later fintech, is reversing its AI-driven customer service strategy by hiring human agents after reducing its workforce by 700 in 2022. CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski acknowledged that the AI focus, which handled two-thirds of customer inquiries, lowered service quality due to an overemphasis on cost-cutting. The company is now recruiting remote support staff to replace outsourced agents, targeting students, rural residents, and loyal users. Klarna aims to balance AI for routine tasks with human support for complex issues. The shift responds to customer dissatisfaction with AI chatbots, particularly for sensitive or complex inquiries.
The Cynic would argue that this reflects the AI hype bubble and that in fact, Klarna were hyping up their AI efforts with a view of boosting their IPO. They’d be right but they’d also be missing a critical point. I’ve always argued that as AI makes its way deeper into the finance stack, the core metric for now is to run as many experiments as possible. The goal is to develop an organisational understanding of how the company can leverage AI. In digital transformation, what matters is the people and that you take them on a journey. In this journey, these people need to develop both confidence and the right instincts around the technology and this only comes through encouraging experimentation. So Klarna both overhyped their AI play as well as accelerated their learning in AI, the latter matters the most.
🇳🇬 Moniepoint Handles Two-Thirds of In-Person Payments in Onitsha
Moniepoint Inc., a Nigerian fintech, reported that two out of three in-person payments in Onitsha, West Africa’s largest market, are processed through its POS terminals, handling over $2 million daily. The case study, “How Moniepoint is Driving Trade in West Africa’s Largest Market,” shows how its digital payment solutions reduce cash-related risks like theft, speed up transactions, and eliminate bank runs. Merchants use transaction histories to access instant loans, aiding quick restocking in a volatile market. Moniepoint’s hyperlocal support, with culturally aware account managers, fosters trust among traders. The platform supports SMEs and the Igbo apprenticeship system, enhancing financial inclusion and business efficiency in a cash-heavy economy.
A recent report by Technext also showed that in other markets in Nigeria, Moniepoint took the lead with its Market share often exceeding 55% across these markets. Core to this adoption has been the speed and reliability of Moniepoint’s platforms. It’s a lesson to anyone in retail payments, to replace cash, you have to be as ubiquitous, fast and reliable as cash. Focusing only on those fundamentals is what players like M-Pesa in East Africa have done well. UX doesn’t matter.
🌍 Africa | PalmPay to Expand into Four New African Markets by End of 2025
PalmPay, a Nigerian fintech, plans to expand into South Africa, Côte d’Ivoire, Uganda, and Tanzania by the end of 2025, following its operations in Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya. The company processed over 15 million daily transactions in Nigeria during Q1 2025, serving 35 million users. The expansion aims to leverage Africa’s growing digital payments sector, driven by increased smartphone adoption and financial inclusion. PalmPay will offer B2B services in Tanzania, with product details for other markets undisclosed. It faces competition from MTN MoMo, TymeBank, Wave, and Airtel Money in these markets. The move could position PalmPay for future growth and a potential public offering.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Ultimately, I’ve always argued that Nigeria is a unique Fintech market. The lack of proper MoMo and a bank-led inclusion drive has created the right conditions for the OPay’s and PalmPay’s of this world to thrive. Other markets may not be as ripe and it will be interesting to see how this plays out. Nonetheless, I think their market choice makes choice. South Africa is also a bank-led market that may offer some opportunity. Moreover, they are right to start with B2B in Tanzania given that it lends itself to B2B Fintech, a point I made in a recent article about How to Select Markets in the Rest of Africa outside of Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya and SA.