African Fintech Summit (AFTS), the premier global initiative dedicated to African Financial Technology (Fintech) ecosystem, has projected African Fintechs in its 2026 Outlook, as an ecosystem that would transit from chasing global investments to becoming the hub that would attract global investments and powered by African founders.
Managing Director of AFTS, Zekarias Amsalu, who made the projection, said: "2026 will mark the transition from African fintechs going global, to becoming the globe itself that would be powered by African founders, capital, talent and infrastructure. The continent will no longer just be adopting global technologies and solutions, or seeking for investments globally, but will be exporting solutions that will attract global investors."
According to him, his prediction is based on 2025 being a pivotal year for Africa's digital sector, where Fintechs shifted from rapid scaling to prioritising sustainable growth and profitability.
"Regulators made bold moves in 2025 to support innovation, while local exchanges saw five Initial Public Offers (IPOs), including two from Fintech companies. African startups raised over $3 billion in disclosed funding--a 33 per cent year-on-year increase, as detailed in 2025 Prediction & Reality Check Report last month," Amsalu said.
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His prediction started manifesting last week, when Flutterwave, a global Fintech company with Nigerian origin, announced the acquisition of Mono, an African open banking and account-based payments provider.
According to Flutterwave, the acquisition will enable it to strengthen its payments infrastructure and accelerate the growth of open banking in Africa, focusing on interoperability, data-driven solutions, and locally relevant payment methods.
The acquisition marks a significant step towards Flutterwave's long-term vision of constructing an interconnected, interoperable financial ecosystem for Africa, with open banking at its core. Founder and CEO of Flutterwave, Olugbenga Agboola, said the acquisition would empower businesses operating within African markets while ensuring security, compliance, and local relevance.
Giving details of his prediction for African Fintechs, Amsalu said: "From mobile money innovations to cloud computing, born in Africa and gifted to the world, Africa is increasingly powering the world from within. Fintech platforms born out of necessity are now enabling cross-border trade, remittances, and digital finance far beyond the continent, while African engineers, founders, and creatives are building products that serve global users at scale. As global remote work opportunities, computing infra, and connectivity converge, Africa's digital-native youthful population and entrepreneurial resilience, position it not just as a beneficiary of global growth, but as a driver of it--powering global finance, Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, and digital transformation from Africa to the world."
According to him, in Africa, telcos have driven last mile financial inclusion and value-added financial services, but banks have retained control due to regulations.
He however said: "This is changing as telcos are making bold moves in licensed banking operations. Telcos with millions of subscribers and mobile money users, will be acquiring licenses in the regulated banking space and baptizing themselves as 'banks' in 2026 and beyond."
For African startups, Amsalu predicted that with the growing demand for global payroll and compliance services as African talent expands worldwide, local startups would continue to scale up, while global companies are entering Africa to take a slice of the remote workforce market, resulting in vertical and strategic acquisitions of home-grown payroll platforms.
"The next billion tech savvy consumers will emerge from Africa and the world largest Fintech giants are making calculated moves accordingly. Revolution is moving to Africa and Paypal, that exited some markets in Africa, has made it clear it is coming back to Africa in 2026 - this time through strategic alliances with established local Fintechs that have perfected operating in Africa. Expect a wave of strategic acquisitions and partnership proposals by the incoming global Fintechs -- including telcos, banks and global payment networks," Amsalu said.
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According to him, in 2026, Fintech startups will seek more Micro Finance Institutions (MFI) licenses for greater banking control, while banks will acquire Fintechs to expand digitally as part of their diversification.
"Founders with liquidity will invest locally, boosting secondary markets and in 2026, new regional funds connecting Gulf, Asian, and African markets will drive fresh investments into the tech sector," Amsalu further said.
