From Escrow to Contactless Payments: African Fintechs to Watch in 2025
Fintech companies continue to dominate Africa’s tech ecosystem, accounting for 35% of total funds raised in the first half of 2024. As the industry matures, startups in four key categories – credit cards, contactless payments, payment infrastructure and managed services – will be leaders by 2025. In the credit card space, Allawee and MONAPP target individual consumers and commercial drivers respectively Addressing the low adoption of credit cards in Nigeria. For contactless payments, startups such as TAP, Karla and Cash Africa have positioned themselves as market leaders, focusing on NFC-enabled seamless transactions. Meanwhile, infrastructure startups Zone, Keyrails and HUB2 are redefining cross-border payment systems, combining blockchain and APIs to streamline operations and enhance fraud prevention. Finally, escrow services Middleman and Aje address trust issues in social commerce by providing secure, blockchain-based payment solutions. Together, these fintechs demonstrate Africa’s rapid innovation and increasing competitiveness in financial technology.
source: Tech Cabal
